Last Days of Ponykind

by Halira

First published 24th of March, 2018

With Ponykind of the verge of extinction a few ponies struggle just to save the life of one foal.

Thus project has been cancelled as I was not happy with the character development. I may do a full rewrite in the future, or pass it on to another author, but no promises on that.

In the far future Ponykind is on the verge of extinction. The earth ponies and the pegasi are all dead, and the Unicorns are second class citizens to the crystal ponies and thestrals. There is a never ending struggle against a necromancer that has slowly destroyed all of the lands that were once Equestria, leaving only the land of Ocid. This is the state that things have persisted in for the past eight hundred years, but now events move to where the final end of Ponykind is on the horizon.

The fate of all ponies now depends on whether one filly from a to this point extinct tribe lives or dies.

Special thanks to my various pre-readers and editors.

Prologue: 1046 A.F.H (After Fall of Harmony)

Midnight Glow woke to the beeping of her alarm with a groan. The lights of her small apartment came on, causing her to blink her eyes at the sudden change in light. The time to wake up came too soon.

"Good morning thestral mare 7849927190, designation Midnight Glow. Sensors report you're in the parameters of good health today. You're currently due to report to your assigned station in two hours; starting count down now. Food rations for Ocid are at acceptable levels currently and you've been provided appropriate meal bars for today. Please remember to be prompt to your duties so that no disciplinary action must be taken. Ocid survives." The computer's disembodied voice was as grating as ever.

"Ocid survives," Midnight Glow muttered sleepily as she pulled herself out of bed.

For the millionth time she looked at her never removed black plastic suit and sighed. Was there a cutie mark on her flank beneath the suit? Did she have some other purpose in her life? She would never know. She was strapped into this suit when she was seventeen, having not earned a cutie mark yet, and she would die in this suit. Someday it would determine she was no longer healthy enough, and then she would end up as part of a batch of meal bars. Only a few parts of her body remained exposed to remind the world she was a living, breathing pony: her wings, her neck and head, her tail, her hooves, and openings for more personal areas. Everything else was covered in the computerized suit that marked her as an acolyte. There were worse suits to be trapped in at least.

She took her meal bars from the dispenser in the wall and quickly ate, took a brief shower, then made her way out the door into the city beyond.

Her apartment exited out onto a railed walkway that stretched far in each direction. There were elevators available every few hundred pony lengths to move ponies up and down the building. One of the perks of being a Thestral was she could glide down to the street below. Not many Thestrals really took to actually flying through the city, the stink of it rose up and accumulated like a cloud beneath the Dome, and the smell of it was too much for most, including her.

The entire city, the entire nation just about, was bathed in artificial light from the Dome above. The fact that the light had to pass through the fumes of the city caused everything to have a sickly look. The Dome was constant pushing fresh air into the city and filtering the fumes out, but not fast enough to ever get rid of the smoggy cloud. Midnight Glow didn't even know what the roof looked like, as that ever-present cloud thoroughly obscured it. Below were labyrinths of buildings with neon lights, metal walkways, and drab dirty exteriors. The city streets at the bottom were always dark except for the lights of the neon signs, and the glow of the television monitors that prattled off news and advertisements endlessly. The only concept of night and day were the times the computer told you about. This was the district of Night's Heart, and this was what most of Ocid was, too.

Midnight Glow launched herself from the railing and navigated her glide to the street below, careful to avoid gliding into any of the many walkways that branched between buildings. She landed safely on the grey dust covered street and took a moment to take a breath. The air here stank of piss, feces, alcohol, pipe smoke, the smallest hint of blood, and a multitude of other drugs. Growing up in the city she had turned the smells out, they were all she knew. That changed when she was taken to from Foal Services to be an acolyte, she had been exposed to clean air for the first time, and she learned the extent of the stench she lived in.

She wished she could handle the smell up above, the walk to work had her pass through too many stark reminders of the misery she was lucky to avoid after being chosen as one of the acolytes. She had a much easier job than just about any pony in Ocid. Most days she just had to give the morning report to her alicorn and then just keep her alicorn company the rest of the day. On occasion she would be commanded to do some small task or asked her opinion on something by her alicorn, but frequently it was just keep by her alicorn's side.

That was a far cry from the life she could be leading. As she walked down the street she passed one of the many brothels. Most of the prostitutes were unicorn mares, all the unicorn mares were mandated to be prostitutes, breeding more unicorns was considered too high a priority. The city needed the power the unicorn stallions produced to power its weapons, factories, and everything else; they were a resource to be exploited. But there were crystal pony mares and Thestral mares among the prostitutes as well. Ponies that didn't demonstrate any capabilities in other important areas, they were only considered worthwhile as breeding stock. Stallions were not considered for breeding stock because it increased the probability of inbreeding, something that was already too much of a problem. Past use of stallions as prostitutes was believed to be one of the reasons their was a sharp decline in unicorn births.

Midnight Glow feared that if she had not been taken as an acolyte she would have ended up assigned as just another prostitute in a brothel. That would have been her life instead until her body had given out from having given birth more than it could bear, or she was no longer capable of having foals any more, then she would just be a meal bar.

"Hey, honey, want to have some fun? It's a slow morning and we can give a mare a good time if you have the bitcredits," one of the prostitutes, a unicorn mare, called out to her.

"Not today, thank you." Or any other day for that matter, she thought. "Can't be late for work. I know you understand."

"We can be quick, but we understand. No pony wants to end up taking a trip to the Bakery. Perhaps some other time," the prostitute replied and lit up a narcotic of some sort as she waited for another passerby with her fellows.

There was one thing and only one thing Midnight Glow envied the prostitutes in: prostitute suits exposed far more of their bodies. It would be so nice to be able to feel the fur on many of those places again. The prostitutes' suits left them nearly naked, granted you couldn't see their cutie marks, but they still looked much more free.

She paused beneath one of the many monitors as a news broadcast was about to begin. She had time to watch it, and it would give her some idea what to be expecting as she gathered information for her morning report to her Alicorn.

"Good morning citizens of Ocid," the crystal pony reporter on the screen began. The central computer could just as well make these announcements, but ponies felt better receiving them from another pony. Some conspiracy theorists claimed that the reporters were just projections from the computer. Midnight Glow knew better. This particular reporter had been in Foal Services with her. Midnight Glow had been there the day they strapped her into her suit, after a previous reporter had a mental breakdown and was deemed no longer capable of doing his job. She was put to reporting the very next day. Midnight Glow couldn't actually recall the Pony's name and she never gave it during her reports. It wasn't her job to give her name.

"For our news for this morning: last night there was a large attack by the undead horde on a farm in sector four. Our valiant military was able to fight back the abominations with acceptable losses." Midnight Glow wondered what the body count that was considered “acceptable” would be this time; she would find out when she gathered information for her report.

"We want to remind citizens that breeding is a duty and an obligation," the reporter continued. "Our farms cannot be maintained without a constant influx of new workers. Our breeders are working hard to keep those numbers up, but it's every pony's duty to breed. If you're a stallion please take the time to visit our breeding facilities on a regular basis, and young mares working in other industries please remember that you must produce a foal of your own by your twenty-fifth birthday." The reporter herself was obviously pregnant.

Midnight Glow sighed and raised her foreleg to see the various vital information the suit displayed there. Among that information was her own countdown till her twenty-fifth birthday. Six-hundred-twelve days, fourteen hours, and thirteen minutes left; she still had time, but the clock was ticking. Failure meant a trip to the Bakery and some other pony would get a job as an acolyte.

"In other news," the reporter continued, "a factory for weapons production had work halted last night due to riots. Military was dispatched and brought the riots to an end. Production will begin again as soon as new workers from Foal Services are trained in their duties. An anonymous message from an escaped protester claims factory conditions were too unsafe. Ponymother Peridot issued a statement saying that conditions will be looked into at the factory, but sedition won't be tolerated. We cannot survive if we war with ourselves. Citizens please, if you have concerns with your workplace, use proper channels to communicate those concerns."

Midnight Glow knew full well from her own reports that more often than not those concerns went unaddressed. Ponies that regularly sent in reports of problems tended to have their factory bosses increase their demands on the pony, giving poorer and poorer reviews of their performance, until finally that pony was sent off to the Bakery. She dreaded reading the detailed report on the riot, and having to report it to her Alicorn.

"In final news for this morning," the reporter said, "drones report that there's a massive build-up of undead forces near the Klugian border. We've received transmissions of calls for aid from the Klugian capital at Mount Aeris. Ponymother Peridot has authorized a major military assault into the Dead Lands to try to weaken the undead forces. The Ponymother gave the statement that we cannot afford to have Klugia fall and must do what's necessary to help them maintain their survival against our common enemy. Far too much has been swallowed up by the Dead Lands, we must fight to prevent the Necromancer from taking another hoofstep of land. This completes our news report for this morning. Ocid survives."

"Ocid survives," Midnight Glow muttered. "For what that's worth."

She resumed her walk towards the Crystal Spire. Once upon a time within the Spire there was a crystal heart that had protected this land from dangers. The heart was still there, but it had long since grown cold. It kept back the snows still, but did little else. It needed hope and happiness and that was not to be found in Ocid. Ponykind was dying and every pony knew it. The pegasi and earth ponies were all dust or just reanimated bodies in the Necromancer's army. Where once ponies lived happily under the sun and moon from one end of the continent to the other, now only Ocid remained. If a pony didn't slave away on a farm they never saw the sun and moon, just the Dome.

Midnight Glow was different from most ponies in the aspect that she eagerly listened to the tales of before. Most ponies either dismissed them as fairy tales, or at best memories of a time that needed to be forgotten so you could accept the world as it now was. She couldn't help but think that this is what earned her a spot as an acolyte instead of a breeder. This place was so full of misery, some ponies had to take the time to remember there was something better once.

She approached a commotion in front of an apartment building. There was a panicking older thestral stallion being hauled from the apartment building by a group of armed guards. She didn't need to hear exactly what was going on to know what was happening. He was being taken to the Bakery.

"I can work! I've made it to every one of my shifts on time without fail! Please don't take me to the Bakery! I'll do better, you’ll see!" The stallion continued to struggle as he shouted. Beating his wings against the guards. It looked like the guards had already broken one of his wings so he couldn't fly off.

"Come on, you old bat. Have some dignity and stop struggling," one of the guards snarled at him.

Onlookers were pretending they weren't watching, and most ponies were just getting away from the area. Midnight would have to walk by, there was no avoiding it. She lowered her head and tried to shut out the sound of what was happening. She couldn't though, this was the thing that all ponies lived in fear of. She wanted to stop it, but she had no power to do so.

"This's horseshit," one of the guards finally growled in frustration. "Hold the bastard so I can take a clear shot at him. We tried doing this the easy dignified way, now we just have to do this the messy hard way."

"Please...no," the old thestral whimpered.

"Save your damned shot, soldier!" His commanding officer barked at him. Then the officer walked over to the older Thestral and then a narrow hoofblade extend from his uniform that he quickly shoved it straight into the old thestral's left eye. He pulled the blade free quickly, splattering blood on the soldiers holding the now dead thestral, on himself, and on the street. The blade retracted into his uniform just as quickly as it had extended.

"Shot is a resource, we don't waste it," the officer instructed. "Now get his body into the shuttle so we can get him to the Bakery. Damn bastard, old ones should know this is coming and be ready to just come along."

Midnight Glow just kept walking with tears in her eyes that the world was so cruel.

Midnight Glow entered her small office in the Crystal Spire. Time to face more tragedy. She sat down at the computer and started gathering information onto her wing held tablet. Reports on casualties from all the events she had heard reported on the news, reports on casualties from events the news failed to mention. Information on estimated numbers on what forces the Klugians faced, and what their current defensive capabilities seemed to be. Gathered information on food production and other industry reports. She researched the current statistics on the population at large. The grim task of researching possible replacements for herself among the ponies minors, should it be determined she or one of the other acolytes needed replacing. Last, but likely the most important, she looked for anything that might bring a smile to her alicorn's face.

This was Midnight's daily morning tasks. She was allowed one day off every ten days for herself, tomorrow would be that day. She should probably spend it looking for a stallion to impregnate her, but she would likely spend it just sleeping again. The dread feeling that she would likely end up in the Bakery for failing to produce foal should have motivated her, but somehow it failed to be more enticing than a day in bed alone. There was always the next day off, or the next, until there were no more next days.

The issue of the foal did play at her mind a lot today though. If she did produce a foal in time would she keep it or give it to Foal Services? Parents were allowed to keep one foal themselves to raise and she was only required to produce one. It seemed a nightmarish thing to keep a foal. You spend seventeen years raising it, pouring all that love into it, and chances are they will get taken off to some job they would be miserable in or shortly die in. Yeah, you did get to visit them still, provided they weren't taken out to the farms, but for a mare like her she wasn't sure she could stand that. She had a job where she had a legitimate chance of living to her sixties if she did everything right, perhaps seventies. The chances she would outlive her offspring were high. Best to know nothing about them and save herself the hurt.

It was just one of the reasons she wasn't in a hurry to find a stallion for that. Another was she had basically no desire for sex. She wasn't alone in this, reports said more and more mares and stallions lacked any such drive, and more than nine out of ten mares did not get an estrus cycle to hormonally drive them to it, herself included among those. It was like genetics was trying to tell them it was time to stop trying to carry on and just let Ponykind die out.

Midnight finished gathering her data for her report. She had been unsuccessful in finding any good news to bring. That wasn't the end of the world for her, it wasn't part of her job description, just something she tried to do. She sighed at her failure to find anything though.

She left her tiny office and made her way to her alicorn's quarters, computer tablet tucked under her wing. Being a thestral was considered being a prerequisite to the job of acolyte for that one small reason sadly. Crystal ponies had a harder time manipulating the computer tablets, and the powers that be didn't think it worth the time, or effort, to make it easier for them. An unfair reason to not consider a pony for this position, but one that had likely earned her this spot over others.

The guards standing at her alicorn's door did a quick scan of her suit to verify her identity and that she was supposed to be there. Never mind she had been doing this nine out of ten days for the last six years, procedure was procedure. They confirmed her identity and opened the doors for her.

Midnight stepped into the familiar chamber. Within were walls of monitors, each displaying a different portion of the city and a few that displayed areas outside it. There were a few computer consoles on the walls, the normal food dispenser, and a large shower. There was another set of doors on the far end of the room that led to an elevator, which in turn could take a pony outside the roof of the Dome. Midnight had been up there three times during her service, and each time had been burned into her memory.

In the center of the room sat a large bed, and lounging on the bed was her mistress, Sunset Shimmer. The alicorn was a pony of terrible beauty. Her mane seemed to be made of fire but it burned nothing. She had a horn longer than any unicorn's and feathered wings like the now extinct pegasi tribe. She was bigger than any other pony as well, save the Ponymother, and her fellow alicorn Water Shadow. She was also stark naked, as it would be an insult to put a suit on an alicorn. The nakedness might make some ponies think she somehow had a childlike innocence, but Sunset was the wisest and eldest of all Ponykind. Not even Water Shadow was as old as Sunset Shimmer and the Ponymother was but a foal when you compared their ages. Sunset had walked this planet over seven thousand years; the Ponymother, by comparison, was only a little over a millennia.

Also in the room was Midnight's fellow acolyte, Moon Fury. Moon Fury was a stallion in his thirties, a thestral like her of course, and never had much to say. Midnight often wondered what his reports to Sunset were like. He looked like an older, male version of Midnight, with his grey fur and purple mane. The third acolyte of their trio, who wasn't present, was a mare by the name of Night Mist. She looked like a much older version of Midnight. Sunset never said it, but seemed to prefer a certain uniformity to her acolytes' appearances.

Moon Fury bowed his head in silent acknowledgement of Midnight's taking over duties for the shift, and made his exit as Midnight walked forward to stand before her alicorn. Sunset looked upon the youngest of her acolytes and smiled.

"Midnight, you're looking well as ever," Sunset said. "You have the day off tomorrow as I recall. Please, tell me you intend to do something about your lack of pregnancy with your free day. I cannot protect you if you end up delaying too long."

Midnight gave an internal groan at Sunset's greeting. It was actually expected. For the last year Sunset had brought the matter up without fail every time Midnight was due to have a day off. The Alicorn had made it clear that she had no desire to lose any of her current acolytes, especially to something they had the power to prevent.

"It's been on my mind a lot today actually," Midnight confessed. "I'm not sure if it'll be tomorrow, but soon."

"Soon is about all the time you have left, my little pony," Sunset said, no longer smiling. "Visit a brothel, excuse me, breeding center tomorrow and get some lustwort. The centers always have that drug in high supply, use it on your days off in the coming month. It'll cause your body to react as if you're in severe estrus. That is a direct order. I know you're very uncomfortable with intercourse, but I'm not going to lose you to this. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, mistress," Midnight said solemnly. She had no choice, disobeying a direct order from her alicorn was yet another thing that would cause her to end up in the Bakery. Sunset might not report her disobedience herself, but her suit knew that she had been ordered, and would inform the authorities of disobedience. She knew Sunset was doing this to protect her, but it still felt cruel.

"Now, since we've dealt with that unpleasant business, let's hear the morning’s unpleasantness," Sunset sighed.

"Yes, mistress," Midnight said, with renewed energy in her voice. "I'm sure you've already seen the news reports about the factory riot, casualties were ten ponies, all factory workers. The grievances stemmed from the foundry. The foundry for the plant frequently spilled molten metal out on the factory floor, and many workers had stations that put them in harm's way frequently."

"I'll speak to Peridot about making an example of the factory boss there. We can't find all the problems in all the factories ourselves, but we can possibly scare the managers into making sure they do a better job at addressing safety concerns. I'm sure if there was a problem as bad as that unaddressed there were many other lesser problems as well," Sunset said. "Next item of business."

"The attacks on the Klugian border..." Midnight began.

"I'm likely more informed than you on the that matter, please move on to the next item that's not dealing with our undead neighbors," Sunset interrupted.

"The monthly report on incest rates of ponies related by at least a generation are in," Midnight continued. "They're up a full percent. The computer is advising that some action be taken to reduce possible inbreeding and is warning this could lead to additional health problems if this trend continues."

"That means higher regulation of the breeding facilities," Sunset sighed yet again. "I'm not sure how to easily do that, perhaps we can require the computer to do a genetic scan of each prostitute and stallion before they do what they do. But that is the best I can think of, and I'm not sure if that is enforceable without reprogramming the software in the breeders' suits, and possibly requiring upgrades on the hardware. Hardware upgrades are always messy, and can only be practically applied to new wearers with fresh suits. I'll see what can be done about upgrading future generations to do genetic scans to give warning of too close a match. Hopefully that'll be enough. A one percent rise in a single month is a troubling increase, it was already uncomfortably high."

Sunset looked up at the monitors for a minute, just watching silently.

"Is there any other news that is urgent in nature? And is there any positive news?" Sunset said quietly.

"Most other things can be dismissed for now, ongoing problems that solutions are still being worked on mainly. I was unfortunately unable to find any particularly good news. Undead attacks are down overall, but we know that's because they're massing on Klugia. You'd know before I would if drones had located the Mare of Shadow's current operating base."

"It's likely too deep in the Dead Lands anyway. I suspect somewhere near the ruins of Vanhoov, but it's impossible to get an army out that far, and doubtful it would be effective against that necromancer if we did manage an assault on her," Sunset lowered her head. Her mane lost some of its brightness with a depressed mood. "Come sit with me Midnight and let's talk."

Midnight did a quick leap up on the massive bed and sat beside the much larger pony.

"I know I've told the other two this before, but I haven't told you. This is a secret that you do not reveal, do you understand?" Sunset said.

"Yes, mistress," Midnight said, both eager and fearful to hear what this secret knowledge might be.

"If we put everything we had against the Mare of Shadows including the full power of both me and Water Shadow we would fail, she's simply too strong. At some point she'll overcome our defenses and Ocid will fall," Sunset said as she gazed at a monitor displaying a section of the undead horde. "It's not a matter of if it will happen but when. At least as things stand."

This really wasn't a secret. Every pony knew that they were in a losing fight. Too many other nations had fallen already. Midnight saw the reports every day of what went on in Ocid and knew that the society was a machine that was bound to break down eventually. It might carry on for a few more centuries, maybe, but it would fail.

"Water Shadow and I do put some input into who shall be chosen as our acolytes'" Sunset continued. "Do you know why you were chosen?"

"I can guess at some of the criteria, but not actually, mistress," Midnight replied.

"You have some small throwback in your character to what ponies once were," Sunset replied. "There are others of course, there can only be so many acolytes, but you keep the memory of that better time alive. Never lose that and keep other ponies from losing that where you can. It was not relative ease of our lives back then that made our race great, it was things like compassion, kindness, empathy, generosity, and laughter. Loyalty wasn't to our nation but to one another. Care about your fellow ponies, not as resources, but as individuals.

"I know the way our system is now discourages such things," Sunset said with tears in her eyes. "Water Shadow and I spend so many days trying to think of how I can foster such things in a place such as this. Perhaps if some of the other alicorns were alive still they would know better, but I think they lost track of those things themselves before they fell. Flurry Heart was the last alicorn to die and she had lost track of those things as well. She gave her power over to Peridot before ending herself, but I fear Peridot is so focused on our survival that she has forgotten what living is. She's not fit for the power given her and is leading us to ruin."

"What can I do, mistress?" Midnight asked. Talk of Peridot's lack of fitness was definitely something she would not discuss with any pony. Such talk bordered on sedition. An Alicorn could get away with such talk, a pony such as Midnight Glow had no such freedom though.

"I talk to you for the moment as another pony not your alicorn. When I speak to you this way address me as you would another pony," Sunset said.

"Alright, mistr--Sunset, what am I supposed to do? It seems like everything that I could possibly do would just end with me in the Bakery," Midnight said with a steadily rising tone. "I passed by a pony being hauled off to the Bakery today. I felt so helpless. If I said or did anything I would face the same fate and he would still be some pony's meal bars now. I've been feeling especially troubled by what it means to have a foal in this place. I can't even raise him or her because I know they'll likely be hauled away to the Bakery before I am, so I have to send them to Foal Services, because I can't take that hurt, but I don't want to do that either!" Midnight's voice was at a shout towards the end. She caught herself, and looked at her Alicorn in horror, fearing she had overstepped herself raising her voice to her mistress.

"Please forgive me," Midnight begged. "I don't know why I even brought that up."

"Forgive you for what?" Sunset said while raising an eyebrow. "Perhaps it was a little off topic, but not completely. You clearly have a lot of emotion invested in this. I had wondered at your delay and this explains it better. It's a sign you have an emotional connection to your future foal and it isn't just an obligation. I don't rescind my order on seeing to it you get with the foal making, but do not feel like you will be punished for saying your mind to me, even if it comes out harshly. I want you to be a being of emotions, not some drone."

Sunset drew herself up to her hooves and looked down on Midnight.

"I think you should think on what it means to be a being of emotion and how you can maintain that. It's Peridot's great failing that she has forged a system that stymied such things in ponies," the Alicorn said. "I'm going to eat, shower, and sleep. Keep an eye on the monitors as I sleep and wake me if anything major happens on the Klugian front. If anything else happens use your best judgement on whether it's something I need to be woken for or can be reported to me after I wake up."

"Yes, mistress," Midnight said with a bow of her head.

Midnight Glow made her way back home. There hadn't been anything worthy of waking the Alicorn by the time she had left, and she had left with Sunset still asleep. This left her with a lot of time to think, primarily about having a foal, and how she should feel about said foal. Based on what Sunset had told her, she likely should keep the foal, rather than give it over to Foal Services. That was a pretty big commitment in itself. There wasn't a ban on bringing foals to work, the general understanding being that you were responsible for whatever trouble they might get into when at work. A pony could bring a foal to one of those dangerous factories if they really needed to, but if the foal got hurt then the parent was responsible. Midnight's job wasn't a dangerous one, the biggest concern would be whether she would have a crying foal wake her Alicorn when Sunset was trying to nap. She doubted Sunset would mind otherwise.

In her heart she knew she wanted to keep her foal. She just dreaded the prospect of trying to take care of it, and she dreaded the day that her foal was officially declared an adult and forced into a career. No matter how much she prepared them they may still end up in a position in one of those factories, or worse the farms or brothels. There were better jobs, but they were based on what was needed at the time. They didn't usually force a pony into a suit immediately at seventeen years old, but they would definitely be in one by the time they were eighteen. If you had aptitudes for better jobs they would try to save you for those, but if one didn't come available before you were eighteen you were given one that had the highest need at that particular moment. Not for the first time Midnight shivered at the fact that she had luckily avoided a brothel.

Midnight came upon another commotion in the street as she approached the same brothel she had that morning. This time it wasn't the same types of guards that dragged you off to the Bakery thankfully. No, this was Foal Services, and they were busy trying to drag a naked green Unicorn mare with a yellow mane into the brothel. There was a middle-aged crystal pony mare pleading with the Foal Services officials and trying to soothe the Unicorn mare.

"Come on, you knew this was coming, stop struggling. We need to get you suited up, and get you to work. You already were allowed to wait until your eighteenth birthday, for reasons I can not begin to guess at, but time's up," a thestral mare in a Foal Services uniform was shouting at the Unicorn mare.

"I don't want to! I’ll do anything else! I'll even go to the farms, but not this!" the unicorn cried, still trying to fight to escape.

"Please, she is terrified! Let me talk to her. She is my daughter, she'll listen to me," the crystal mare begged the Foal Service agents.

"No pony is stopping you from talking, ma'am, but she's getting strapped up now. Talk to her all you want while that happens," the lead agent replied.

Midnight once again was caught up in the horror of Ocid and this time she couldn't look away. It was too closely tied to her own worries of the moment. This crystal pony had had a unicorn foal and had kept her. She had to know that this was coming. Every unicorn mare ended up in the brothels, breeding unicorns was too much a priority. They had far lower birth rates even with two unicorn parents, and it took aggressive breeding to keep their numbers up. They were needed for providing power to the city. Midnight knew that there had been discussions about whether the unicorn stallions should have the same done with them again, despite the fact they had genetic defects in high numbers from the stallions parenting. What would she do in that kind of position? What would she do if she had a unicorn foal? The merciful thing would be to give them over to Foal Services. Foal Services would prepare them for the idea of what would be coming, and Midnight didn't know if she could deal with being in this poor crystal pony mare's position right now, watching her foal taken to be raped most likely until she accepted her lot in life.

"Mama, make them stop, please!" the unicorn cried out again. She was lashing out with her magic, something that was only possible before being suited. After today all she would be able to do is feed machines with power and basic levitation. The Foal Service agents were doing their best not to hurt her, again she was too valuable, but they were clearly getting angry.

"Sweet Pea, please calm down. I know this is wrong, but we have to accept it. It tears my heart out to know this is happening to you. You need to be brave. I will visit you whenever we can arrange it," the crystal pony cried.

"Mama, I can't do this. I'm too scared," the unicorn blubbered. She was either losing her will to fight or was getting too tired to fight, as her lashing was getting less intense.

"Just be brave," the crystal mare said through tears. She looked at her foreleg and let out another sob. "I...I...have to go. If I don't I'll be late for my shift. I'll find time to visit you as soon as we can."

The crystal mare didn't wait for her daughter to answer. She lowered her head and turned away, running to get to her shift and crying as she went.

"Mama..." the unicorn cried one last time. The fight went out of her and she was literally dragged into the brothel. A Foal Service agent that had lagged behind took what Midnight knew to be a folded-up suit and followed in after the others.

Midnight did not keep walking after that. Instead she just sat and stared at the brothel that the terrified mare had just been dragged into. She knew that even now the unicorn was being put in the suit that would chain her to her profession for the rest of her life. The injustice of it was something she was normally numb to, but today it hit her hard.

Without knowing why, she went into the brothel. Inside was a simple dirty lobby, and in one corner six unicorn fillies played with dolls as a pregnant unicorn prostitute sat watching over them. The pregnant mare glanced up at Midnight as she entered but quickly turned her attention back to the fillies. In the center of the room was the brothel boss, an older crystal pony mare. Each of the three walls other than the entrance's had had a connecting hallway that stretched a long-distance and had staircases visible on the far end of each.

"Welcome to our breeding facility," the older crystal mare said. "Here for some pleasure? We have a lot of unoccupied mares at the moment waiting for some action that wouldn't mind earning some bitcredits and you look like you have them."

"There was a freshly brought in unicorn just a moment ago, is she able to take clients yet?" Midnight asked.

"The new meat?" The crystal mare's eyebrows rose. "You want to be the one to break her in, eh? Yeah, as soon as the Foal Service agents return and say she is strapped up she is technically ready. I warn you though, that one's not been properly conditioned for this yet, so she's likely to be less than cooperative until we have gotten lustwort in her system. I have plenty of others available now who'll be much more to your liking."

"No, it needs to be her," Midnight insisted.

"Well then, let me make something clear. You don't go breaking anything on her or bloodying her up, you hear?" The mare said sternly. "She needs to be able to perform her duties. You can get rough if you need, but she needs to be intact and pretty. I'll have one of the others come in there in a few minutes with some lustwort that should help make her cooperative, though no promises it will. It'll be five credits and you get an hour. There is no refund if you can't get any action out of her, she ain't no veteran at this so she gets some leway for now."

Midnight held a foreleg over the counter and a scanner took the credits from her. She then sat down and waited for the return of the Foal Service agents. She didn't have to wait long. They exited a room on the first floor down the left hallway and quickly left the brothel. They didn't even say a word to the brothel boss.

"Seems she's ready now," the boss said to Midnight. "I'd tell you the room number, but I think you saw where. You have one hour. Expect an interruption from some pony coming in to see she gets some lustwort, we want to get that going in her system quickly."

Midnight made her way over to the room without a word to the boss. She stood in front of the door for a minute questioning what in Tartarus she was doing. She wasn't here for sex, she just wanted to talk to the unicorn. It only now occurred to her she had no idea what she was supposed to say or do. She was tempted to just abandon the entire thing and just leave.

Instead Midnight took a deep breath and slowly pushed open the door. As the door opened a gasp could be heard inside and a quick blur of motion as the occupant ran to cower in a far corner. Midnight walked in and then shut the door behind her. The unicorn was in the far corner of the room, no longer naked. She was doing her best to hide her suit from view, though that was an impossibility.

"You’re here to rape me aren't you?" The terrified mare asked, clearly trying to hold back tears.

"No, I'm not," Midnight told her calmly. "I just want to talk."

"Just talk?" The unicorn seemed confused but still extremely cautious. "You aren't just saying that to calm me down so you can do it later?"

"I don't really have any sex drive. Don't worry, I just want to talk, I promise," Midnight told her as soothingly as she could.

The newly suited prostitute relaxed a little more and looked down at her suit sadly. She started crying as she looked herself over. That kind of suit was very distinctive, and every pony who looked at her would know what she had for a job. She would have to see it on herself every waking minute for the rest of her life, foalhood was over.

Midnight was stuck now not knowing what to say. She just sat watching the newly marked adult as the unicorn wept. Eventually the prostitute looked over at Midnight curiously.

"For wanting to talk you don't say much," the unicorn accused.

"Not sure what to say, to be honest," Midnight admitted. "I guess I can introduce myself. I am Midnight Glow, acolyte to Sunset Shimmer."

"I'm Sweet Pea, I guess I'm...this," she gestured with a leg at her new suit, apparently not willing to say her job title yet. "Acolyte? What's that?"

"Acolyte is a personal servant to one the alicorns," Midnight replied. "I give morning reports, watch over her as she naps, keep her company, and do whatever tasks she commands me."

"Did she command you to come here?" Sweet Pea asked. Her voice perked up slightly.

"Yes and no," Midnight replied with a shuffle of her hooves. "I was ordered to go to a brothel and get some lustwort, but the reason I'm here now is I saw you being taken in here off the street, and I just felt compelled to talk to you."

"Oh," Sweet Pea hung her head in disappointment. Midnight felt a pang of guilt at dashing the poor mare's brief moment of hope that she would get a last-minute reprieve. No such thing would be coming though.

The data display on her foreleg caught Sweet Pea's eye, and she lifted it to look at it. She read over all the data and chuckled bitterly.

"This has a countdown on how long I have to produce a foal," Sweet Pea said quietly. "Honestly with this job it won't take a fraction of that time. I don't even understand all the health information on this thing. It says I have four bitcredits, which I guess is my fee for having you here. Also tells me that I have over seven hours left in my shift, and that you have forty-five minutes left with me. Everything I'm supposed to worry about in my life reduced to numbers that I carry with me everywhere. I looked at my mama's many times before, but it somehow feels unreal looking at the same types of things attached to me. I'm just a cog in a machine."

"Are you angry with your mother?" Midnight asked her. It just occurred to Midnight that it was important and that was a big part of why she had come here.

"Why would I be angry at my mama?" Sweet Pea said in confusion.

"That she had to surrender you to this fate, that she didn't properly prepare you for this, that she had to leave," Midnight responded, desperate to know. She needed this insight, she needed to know if she was ever in that position if her foal would hate her for it.

"My…mother--I need to start using adult terms now I guess--loved me and still loves me," Sweet Pea asserted. "She kept the agents from taking me all the way up to today, my eighteenth birthday. She was always there for me. She'll come back to visit me. She can't help how things are, but she made my foalhood wonderful. It stung that she had to leave right then, but it would have hurt more to have her taken to the Bakery. I'm going to be brave for my mother."

Midnight sat and felt warmth at those words. After being carted off to be forced into prostitution Sweet Pea still had no hatred for her mother. It gave Midnight hope for her future foal. She didn't know what she could do for this Unicorn, but she was now glad she took the time to talk.

Just then the door opened and Midnight moved to stand clear of it. A Unicorn mare around Midnight's age came in, and looked to be just beginning to show signs of pregnancy, and was wearing a small bag in addition to her breeder's suit. The mare looked at both the other two with a quick questioning look.

"I don't smell any sex in here," the pregnant mare noted. "Guessing that means you're waiting on me to get some lustwort in our recruit."

"What's lustwort?" Sweet Pea asked while cowering again in her corner.

"Your mother really did leave you unprepared, didn't she?" The pregnant mare stated and then sighed. "I suppose Foal Services would've only mentioned it, our fillies here start using it regularly a full year before they're due to be suited so they will be eager to begin. Lustwort, in short, makes you really bloody damn horny and I ain't talking about the thing on your head."

"So, I'm going to be drugged into wanting sex?" Sweet Pea asked. "I don't even get to keep my free will?" Midnight felt disgusted at the idea as well.

"Hun, you can refuse it if you want," the older mare said with a motherly tone. "But before today is over, and for the rest of your life, you're going to have likely multiple stallions a day mounting you except for the periods you're pregnant. If it comes to you being raped, it'll still happen. I recommend just taking it so you don't get traumatized. Now, are you going to take it so you can do what you are paid to do with your client?"

"I really am just here to talk," Midnight explained again. The older mare gave her a brief glance and chuckled.

"Oh, you are one of those ones huh?" The elder mare said knowingly. "Well, you lucked out today, little lonely mare. An experienced breeder would take advantage of you, use the same lustwort to get you in bed, and then coming back for as many days as they can entice you. Got to earn bitcredits, and since stallions earn us very little we tend to try to get repeat customers out of mares. She doesn't know what she is doing yet, and you are being nice to her on a very bad day, so I'm being nice by warning you."

"Um, thank you, for letting me know," Midnight replied. Glad she wasn't going to be pulled into becoming some prostitute's plaything for who knew how long. She was also far warier of the drug, and her anxiety over being ordered to get some of it, and use it, rose to greater heights.

"I guess I'll take it, if it'll make this easier," Sweet Pea said, seeming to accept her fate. "At least it's my call to use it."

"Good, I hate having to check up on another mare and find she has been beaten bloody trying to resist a stallion's advances," the mare said. "We have a few different ways we can administer the drug. You can drink a tincture of it, but it takes longer to take effect that way, and isn't as strong an effect after it does start working. You can have it directly injected into you, that has the strongest and most immediate impact. The third way is to smoke it, that is best for maintaining it in your system once you get it going, but it takes a little longer to get you going if you are coming in dry. I would recommend an injection for right now."

"Whatever you think is best," Sweet Pea replied while crying.

It suddenly occurred to Midnight that her order from Sunset had been to come tomorrow, and following orders to the letter was part of her job. She silently cursed herself for being stupid and coming a day early. She would have to return tomorrow. She wouldn't mind talking to Sweet Pea again she supposed, just to see how she was doing.

The older mare had pulled out a filled hypodermic needle and syringe with her magic, and was making her way over to Sweet Pea. Sweet Pea involuntarily cringed as the mare approached her, but didn't try to fight her.

"Close your eyes and grit your teeth, I'm going to be injecting this in quick, and it is going to sting. After that it'll be over and we'll just have to make sure you maintain it in your system. You won't have to have a shot like this again, okay?" The mare kept her voice kind. Sweet Pea did was she was told and nodded silently.

The mare shoved the needle in quickly to some of the exposed area on Sweet Pea's side. The young mare let out a gasp as it went in, and whimpered as the drug was injected into her body. The older mare quickly withdrew the needle after she finished injecting the drug, and put it away in her pack.

"Alright, that wasn't so bad was it?" The older mare asked. "You can open your eyes now. You should start feeling the effects within a minute and have the full effect going within five minutes. It should last well over a full day on its own, but we will get you started on maintaining it later today. Just sit and relax for a few minutes while it takes hold. Have you had estrus before?"

"Yes," Sweet Pea replied.

"Well, it should be feeling like that any moment now and within five minutes it should feel like that only exponentially stronger," the older mare informed her. "My name is Soiled Satin by the way. I'm going to leave you two be now that I've gotten that done. I will be back later to see to the rest."

Soiled Satin left the room and Midnight Glow and Sweet Pea just sat in silence for a moment.

"Feeling any different?" Midnight asked the Unicorn.

"It's strange," Sweet Pea said in an uncertain voice. "Do you get estrus?" Midnight shook her head. "That'll make it harder for me to explain then, because that's what it feels like right now. Only now it's starting to get worse. My nether regions ache and are getting wet. I'm actually trying hard not to touch them in front of you, but I really want to just rub them right now. She said it will take five minutes to take full effect, it has only been about two. I think I would happily lift my tail for a stallion right now, and if this keeps getting stronger like it is I think I would lift my tail for any mare as well. The ache is really intense. I guess that's a good thing, all things considered."

"I really can't imagine it, I have no sex drive and never have. I never got estrus," Midnight confessed again. It was an alien idea to want to be touched that way.

"You really are only interested in talking aren't you?" Sweet Pea said with a smile. "I'm glad you are really just being a nice pony. That makes me feel like some pony cares. I admit though, the way I am feeling right now I am a little disappointed you don't want me for pleasure. I even know it is just the drug talking, but don't really care. It just really aches, but you likely can't understand. Thank you for being a good pony though."

"I think I'll leave before you get to the full effect," Midnight said. "I have to be back tomorrow. My command from my alicorn was for me to be here tomorrow and get some lustwort then. She's worried I won't have my foal, so she's ordering me to do something about it."

"So why were you here today then?" Sweet Pea asked.

"I just was watching what was happening and felt the need to talk to you. I don't really know what came over me," Midnight admitted.

"Well, I'm glad you did. Thank you, it was good to have my first client see me as a pony and not some object to screw," Sweet Pea said gratefully, then she gave an honest laugh. "Hurry on out now, before I start trying to find excuses to get you in bed. You have no idea how bad this ache is."

"I'll probably find out tomorrow after I get drugged, too," Midnight replied. "I'll stop and talk tomorrow again. I think I could use another friend to talk to."

"I'll be happy to be your friend, but hurry up and go now please," Sweet Pea said with a smile. "Ocid survives."

"Ocid survives," Midnight replied as she left.

Moon Fury sat patiently as Sunset Shimmer watched the monitor. On the screen Midnight Glow was making her exit from the brothel. The alicorn beside him sighed.

"I hate spying," Sunset said. "But I have been very concerned about her lately. I am glad to see her actually talking to other ponies though."

"She has a good heart, mistress," Moon Fury replied.

"She does, though I was worried that might be snuffed out by this damn place," Sunset replied. "I am still concerned about her doing what she has to do to not be consumed by the Bakery though. I hate enforcing it but have little choice. I am as much a prisoner of the system as any of you. I may not face consequences for my actions, but all of you do. I don't want my little ponies killed. Please, Moon, can you do what needs to be done to see that she gets with foal. I worry that she might get caught up with the brothel instead of with a stallion."

"Is that an order?" Moon Fury asked plainly.

"No, it is a request, and your choice. I won't force you to do so. I already feel bad enough forcing her to do this kind of thing. It is deplorable," Sunset said with lowered ears.

"I will do what I can," Moon Fury replied.

"Thank you," Sunset replied with another sigh. She turned her attention to another monitor. On this monitor Peridot Glow was visible, passed out in a drunken stupor at her desk in her office.

"Peridot is trying to escape reality again it seems," Sunset grumbled. "She built this absurd nation's system, but she has no more faith in it than I do. She is just trying to hold off the inevitable and despair."

"She does her best, mistress," Moon Fury replied in the same even voice. "We should be grateful we have persisted this long, the lands beyond the Dome are testament to how easy it is to fall."

"We have so many enemies beyond these walls," Sunset said sadly. "Not just the Mare of Shadows and her undead legions; Grogar to the far north, Lavan is assaulting the dragons and they are in their own struggle for survival against him. There are other lieutenants to the Elder Gods making war against life elsewhere, beyond where our drones can reach to see. Even if we were to somehow stop the Mare of Shadows, unlikely as that is, we would soon face some other high-ranking minion of the Elder Gods. We don't even understand the nature of the Elder Gods, or why they want us dead, so that we could know how to try to bargain for our lives. It isn't just Ponykind facing extinction, this world faces assault on all fronts."

The door opened behind them and Night Mist entered the room to begin her shift.

"Moon, before you leave for today send word to Water Shadow that I wish to discuss with her the Klugian front and what to do to motivate Peridot," Sunset commanded.

"Yes, mistress," Moon Fury said with a bow of his head as he walked backwards towards the exit.

When he had left the room and gotten some distance between himself and the guard he let his stiff exterior expression drop into a grimace. He grew so tired of the stiff formality and Sunset Shimmer could get so depressing. He sometimes had to remind himself that he was here for a reason. The order of this place was suffocating, how did these ponies manage it for centuries without going insane. Perhaps they were insane, but it wasn't a very amusing insane. The only thing worse was the endless death the Elder Gods brought, there was nothing fun about death.

He was by himself in the hallway and decided to risk a bit of magic. He created a little sphere that allowed him to look at Midnight Glow.

"Warning! Unknown magic of non-pony origin detected!" The computer announced.

"Oh hush, you detect nothing," Moon Fury sneered.

"Disregard warning, sensor error. Running diagnostics," the computer replied back.

"Hopefully none of these ponies heard that, wiping memories is depressing," Moon Fury said with a sigh. He then went back to considering the figure in his glowing sphere. Sunset's request to him did open up some possibilities. Pinkie Pie had done something of interest with producing offspring a few decades before her demise. It definitely gave some inspiration. This place needed something to break the order, something random, something chaotic. These ponies weren't going to do anything to better their situation on their own, it was time for him to play. Big things started off small after all.

The creature that called itself Moon Fury dismissed the globe and went about Sunset's wishes. He sometimes wondered how the alicorn failed to recognize his presence or see through his disguise. Sunset was paying less attention to things in her old age, becoming blind to things. She needed a bit of chaos in life to break the monotony and get back to form, and he was the one to provide it.

Chapter 1: Surprise Delivery

Author's Notes:

Decided to release chapter 1 ahead of schedule. The feel of how chapters will flow wasn't shown well in the prologue and wanted to make it clear how chapter flow would go.

Please note that there are central characters, not one central protagonist. Midnight will get her moments, but she isn't at the center of the story.

Sweet Pea was uncomfortable. She wasn't unhappy, she was actually in good spirits, but she was definitely uncomfortable. She was eight months pregnant and she didn't feel like doing much walking around, would have been perfectly happy to stay in bed.

However, today she had a special task to do. Her best friend was due to give birth today and Sweet Pea was going to be the one to help deliver the foal. It was a special occasion for many reasons. There was the joy that Midnight was about to officially be a mother, there was the fact Sweet Pea was being included in this special occasion, and this would be the first foal Sweet Pea would be assisting in the delivery of herself.

Breeders may be seen primarily as prostitutes, but they served a second job as well: midwives. When a breeder was pregnant, and it was unproductive to just keep screwing her, she still had work to do. The main work being to help deliver foals. In the past eight months, Sweet Pea had been learning this task and she found it very fulfilling. This would be her first time doing it without another breeder in charge and she was excited. The fact that it would be her best friend's foal made it a much more memorable day for her. If it weren't for her massively distended belly she would be bouncing in place with glee.

They were in the Crystal Spire, a place that Sweet Pea would normally never be permitted entrance were it not for Midnight's alicorn, Sunset Shimmer, wanting to be present for the birth of Midnight's foal. And it was easiest to just have them all come to Sunset.

Also present were the other two acolytes for the alicorn, Moon Fury and Night Mist. It was technically Night Mist's shift, which explained her presence. Moon Fury's presence was less explainable. Yes, he was the father but that kind of bond really meant nothing. Stallions provided the sperm but that was the beginning and the end of what any stallion had to do with a foal. Midnight claimed it had not always been that way and that once they were involved with families, but Sweet Pea knew for a fact that it was the way things were now. Perhaps Moon Fury was just there as a friend, though Midnight never talked about any particular friendship with him.

Sweet Pea looked over at her best friend. Midnight Glow was laying on top of the bed that was in the center of the room. The thestral mare lay on her side with all four legs facing one direction, her protruding belly made more natural laying positions practically impossible. She looked even more physically uncomfortable than Sweet Pea. And she had been having contractions for some time that were getting stronger and more frequent.

"How are you holding up?" Sweet Pea asked the pregnant thestral.

"Excited, scared, happy, in pain, all of the above," Midnight Glow replied with a grunt. "I just want this to be over and to be able to hold my foal in my hooves. I wish that I wasn't so messy right now, too, and I'm pretty sure I've pissed all over Sunset's bed."

"You've been leaking fluid for a while now," Sweet Pea replied kindly. "That's probably most of the mess back there and you likely have poor control of your bladder on top of that. I'm sure she's not upset with you for it. She is old enough to know how this works. It's just a sign that the foal is coming really soon."

"I've never been pregnant that I remember, but yes I know how this works. Don't worry, my little pony," Sunset said from off to the side of the bed. The golden alicorn gave Midnight a warm smile before something on one of the monitors caught the alicorn's eye. The alicorn got up and walked over to watch the monitor. Sweet Pea didn't know how to behave in the alicorn's presence and was glad she was temporarily distracted.

Sweet Pea walked behind the other side of the bed to check her friend's dilation. The sheets that were laid out on that end were indeed covered with all kinds of juices and likely piss as well. She quickly gathered them up in her magic and tossed them into a basket that had been set next to the bed for that purpose. It wasn't the first set she had tossed inside. She grabbed up another set of clean sheets from beside the bed and spread them out. She had learned labor was a long process, and a messy one, in the past few months.

Checking the cervix, Sweet Pea noted that it was pretty much ready, and the final part of the labor process would start soon. With a touch of pride that she could recognize all the signs Sweet Pea circled back around the bed to look her friend in the face.

"And if it's a unicorn filly?" Sweet Pea asked.

"I'm not giving up my foal to Foal Services," Midnight said with a growl and bared her fangs. Sweet Pea knew the gesture wasn't directed at her, but it was still enough to make her put a little more distance between herself and her friend's muzzle.

"What if it's twins? You're certainly big enough right now that it could be twins," Sweet Pea continued.

Midnight released her fearsome look and quickly replaced it with a troubled one.

"Please don't suggest such a thing," Midnight replied in a low voice. She seemed like she was ready to cry, a massive shift from her aggressive tone a moment before. Rapid mood swings were to be expected. "I don't want to even think about having to make a choice on which foal to have to keep out of two newborn foals."

"Stop scaring your friend," Sunset spoke up without turning from her observation of a monitor. The view on the monitor was a violent one. The alicorn was watching the heavy artillery on the Klugian border wall rain down heavy fire on the undead hordes. Ocid battleships flying high above were also raining fire on the horde, but were under substantial assault from flying undead. At least one of the battleships had been taken down already. Sweet Pea wondered how many ponies were on each of those ships. She wished the alicorn would turn the monitor off. Today was a day to be celebrating new life not focusing on how much death there was.

Night Mist sat at her mistress's side saying nothing as she watched the monitor as well. Moon Fury stood over in the corner watching them all quietly. Sweet Pea wished he would talk more, his silence was creepy. It was rare that he strung more than five words together and that was typically just acknowledgement that he heard you speaking.

"Awwk!" Midnight cried out, attracting the gaze of every pony. Sweet Pea rushed to her position behind her friend and pulled forward the wheeled cart that would be used by the computer to register the new foal on birth. Midnight had been giving sounds of pain on and off, but that one had the distinct sound that the foal was ready to come now.

"I am pretty sure it is time now," Sweet Pea announced, taking command of the situation. She had trained at this a lot during the last eight months and she was confident in what she was doing. "Some pony please put a cloth in her mouth so she doesn't bite any pony or her own tongue. Sunset can you use your magic to hold her in an optimal position so she can focus her energy on pushing? And can you please make sure she doesn't buck me in the face while I am trying to help her deliver this foal?"

"Of course," the alicorn said as she hurried over and lit her horn. Beside her Night Mist quickly put a cloth in Midnight's mouth, narrowly avoiding having the wing she used to do so get chomped by Midnight's fangs. Moon Fury just stood by watching impassively as ever. Did nothing ever get a rise from that stallion?

Sweet Pea looked up at her friend's cervix and could see the beginnings of the head already. This was going to be a really quick birth provided it didn't have its head wrapped in the chord. She saw no sign of a horn, which meant this foal was either a crystal pony or thestral. That would be a mild relief for the new mother.

"This is going to be a quick birth," Sweet Pea told Midnight. "Just keep pushing and I will gather your foal up. Everything is okay."

The foal's full head was exposed now and it clearly had no chord wrapped in places that it didn't belong. Sweet Pea let out a silent breath of relief at that. There was too much blood and juices caught up in the fur to really tell the color or texture as of yet. The same could be said of the fur around the ears that would announce whether this was a thestral or crystal pony, they would see if there were wings soon enough, though.

More of the foal came through and it seemed to be caught. Sweet Pea could see what was clearly the bases of the foal's wings, marking it as a thestral. The foal had apparently spread them, not normal but not unheard of. This was causing it to be too wide to get through.

"Keep her still," Sweet Pea commanded. "The poor little thing has spread its wings early and I need to get it to relax them to get it through."

Sweet Pea sent her magic carefully up around the foal to try to get the wings to fold. Her eyes widened though as she felt the wings with her magic. Something wasn't right, they felt wrong. A small wave of panic hit her for the first time as she considered that this foal might be deformed. If a foal was deformed the computer would determine if it was worth keeping or if it should be sent straight to the Bakery. She didn't want to have to be the one who delivered her friend's foal if that second option was chosen.

With tears now in her eyes, Sweet Pea carefully closed the foal's unnatural wings. The foal didn't put up any resistance and she was able to easily accomplish the task. With another push from Midnight the foal came completely free and into Sweet Pea's magical grasp.

The unicorn quickly took up a scalpel in her magic and severed the chord. All the other ponies watching let out a shocked gasp as they looked at the foal. Sweet Pea steeled herself and gave the foal a quick inspection, trying not to look at its wings. She saw it was a filly and besides the wings seemed perfectly fine except for what she could now tell was white fur, yet another oddity.

"Well, that's interesting," Moon Fury said calmly from his corner as he looked at the foal. He still managed the same bored monotone.

"Night Mist, get Peridot Glow and Water Shadow now!" Sunset shouted at her acolyte.

"But, mistress, I can't leave you unattended," Night Mist replied in a hushed voice, her eyes glued to the strange foal.

"I have two other acolytes here," Sunset snapped. "Move! That is an order!" Night Mist ran out of the room at a pace that seemed impossible for a mare her age.

Sweet Pea carefully moved the foal over the cart to have it registered.

"What's wrong?!" Midnight screamed, unable to turn herself around to look as she was still held in Sunset's magic.

Sweet Pea didn't reply. She gulped and set the foal down on the cart, to await the computer's judgement. The computer jumped to life and began humming.

"Analyzing..." the computer began.

Peridot Glow sat reading in her office. The ancient crystal pony didn't give the monitors so much as a glance. She would learn soon enough the full extent of the outcome on the Klugian front, watching it happen wasn't going to change any outcomes. Ponies were dying, but they died every day by the score. Every last one of them was descended from her in some way, but she had long since tried to separate herself from agonizing over their deaths. Survival of Ocid as a whole was what mattered, not individual lives.

The book was one that she had read cover to cover thousands of times before, but she still re-read it looking for some clues that she had previously missed. The problem was that the author, Peridot's own sister-in-law, only gave every account from her own perspective. This left the reader having to try to fill in the gaps for why certain things had happened. Peridot herself was featured in the book in many sections and knew more about certain events than Pearlwort seemed to have known. It was a frustrating read, but one of the only accounts of what had happened when the Elder Gods first began their assault on Ponykind.

The answers that she sought most at the moment all concerned Pinkie Pie. The long dead alicorn had betrayed Ponykind in service of the Elder Gods. Peridot longed for clues that showed signs of her betrayal before it happened or the alicorn's motivations. As with all the other times reading she was without further answer. The concern was pressing though.

Sedition was everywhere in Ocid. Everywhere Peridot looked there were forces that wished to pull down order. She could not trust any pony, not even the two alicorns. Pearlwort's account clearly indicated that Sunset had shown contempt for the Greater alicorns before they died. Water Shadow's own account of her possible madness was recorded in the book as well. No, the alicorns couldn't be trusted, no pony could be trusted. It was with her and her alone that Ocid's survival rested.

The Elder Gods knew this, too. Peridot shivered at the memories of their demon spawn trying to tempt her into signing their infernal contracts and take on their belled collar. They had promised her power and the survival of Ocid if she became one of their acolytes. She just had to sign their contract in blood and she would be given a seat at the table with the Mare of Shadows, Grogar, Lavan, and the rest. She had refused each time, but the promise of Ocid's survival and possible dominance of this world still played at her mind each time. Again, the question of why Pinkie Pie had signed a contract with them and used Peridot's sister to destroy Harmony was one that the old crystal pony could still find no answer to.

"Why did she do that, Biblo?" Peridot asked the book. There would be no answer, her sister had been dead over a thousand years. Perhaps it was a mercy that Biblo was dead and she didn't have to live through the misery she had opened the world up to when she brought the Great Tree crashing down from its foundations. At least Biblo had killed that bitch of an alicorn who had betrayed them and Pinkie Pie had died horribly. There was some justice.

Peridot used her magic to uncork a bottle of wine. Her magic was such a joke. She had been given the full power of a dying alicorn and all she could manage was basic levitation like a unicorn despite being a crystal pony. That and an immortal lifespan, but that lifespan was more a curse than anything else.

She poured herself a glass of wine, then lifted up her pipe from a drawer and lit it. She then turned on her desk monitor and began reading the latest reports. More factory uprisings; she kept sending the bloody factory managers to the Bakery, but still the workers conditions never improved enough to satisfy them. Then she had to waste guard power to have the dissenters hunted down and taken to the Bakery as well. She didn't take any pride in these deaths, but order must be maintained. Furthermore, the Bakery had to have a steady flow of bodies, the farms could not possibly produce enough food. Population control to stretch the food better was not an option, Ocid would die without a steady stream of new troops and farmers to replace the constant losses there. It was a vicious cycle, one that was barely maintained.

She took another swig of wine and looked sadly down on her cutie mark, a shield and a hoofblade. She was a soldier, she was not cut out for this job, but she was what Ocid had. Ocid needed a pony who would make the tough decisions that no other pony could, and that included being willing to sacrifice some so that many could survive.

A knock came at her door. Peridot looked up at a monitor that displayed who was outside. Her guards were blocking the way of one of Sunset's acolytes, Night Mist, and the mare looked distressed. Peridot double checked the time. She kept good track of where each of the alicorns' acolytes should be at any given time, it let her keep tabs on the alicorns' activities. Night Mist should not be here, she was not due to leave her alicorn's side for at least three more hours. What provoked the mare to be away from her station at her assigned time, leaving Sunset Shimmer unattended?

Peridot gave the signal to allow the mare to enter. Her interest was only mildly perked. This was likely some new thing that Sunset thought was a critical emergency, more often than not that didn't end up amounting to much. Undead had overrun a farm? If they hadn't breached the Dome then Peridot didn't care. Klugian defenses had been overrun? That was bound to happen at some point. Some major defeat of the dragons by Lavan? That was too far away for her to give a damn.

The old thestral hurried into the room. Peridot reminded herself to double check the mare's age; she had to be getting close to the time for a trip to the Bakery. Perhaps Peridot could make special arrangements for her replacement. A spy loyal to herself being put in as acolyte was something that she should have done long ago. She couldn't trust the alicorns.

"What do you need, acolyte?" Peridot asked with a raised eyebrow. She then poured herself another glass of wine. Hadn't this bottle been fuller? Perhaps not and the factory that processed them was slacking. She would have to look into it.

"Forgive me, Ponymother, but my mistress ordered me to bring you to her," the thestral gasped. Why was she out of breath? Was her health getting poor? Perhaps that Bakery trip was closer than Peridot originally suspected.

"I am not one of their servants to be ordered around," Peridot said with her ears lowered now. How dare Sunset think that she can just summon her and she would come running. There was an understanding between herself and the alicorns that she would not command them, but they not try to usurp her authority. "What is so urgent that I need to come running to her anyway?"

"Forgive me again, Ponymother, but perhaps it is better if you came with me and saw," the old thestral replied. She was visibly agitated.

Peridot mentally cursed that the two alicorns' chambers were the only two places in Ocid she couldn't bring a camera feed up. She could be walking into some sort of rebellious trap if the alicorn had finally decided to betray her. There was more than one way to get information from this thestral though.

Peridot walked over to the aged acolyte and smiled down at the mare. She placed a hoof on the mare's shoulder in what could be interpreted as a calming gesture.

"Calm yourself, citizen," Peridot said as motherly as she could, like she was soothing a child. She was in truth. The thestral might look the senior but Peridot was nearly twenty times as old and this mare's grandmare many times over.

"I am only eager to do my mistress's command, Ponymother. She made it clear to me that I should do this as fast as possible," Night Mist replied, relaxing a little. The mare was unaware that she was relaxing because Peridot was magically manipulating her emotions.

Few ponies knew of this aspect of Peridot's power, just the alicorns themselves. Peridot had an extremely strong emphatic ability, it just required physical contact. The powers were not perfect, they wouldn't work on crystal ponies for example, but they were effective enough. She was capable of calming or agitating a pony if she chose, but that wasn't why she was primarily doing this now. No, the greater power was she could get impressions of what the pony was feeling and what those feelings were directed at. The information would often be vague, but enough for her to get a fair idea what the other pony was thinking about.

Peridot silently listened to the old thestral's thoughts. There was something that had shocked her and had shocked Sunset as well. That made this just another one of those seemingly urgent concerns again, but not sedition at least. She felt around some more trying to get an impression of what was the source of the shock. Something about a foal, really? What could be so urgent about a foal? Peridot strained but couldn't get a clearer impression in a mere few seconds. This information would have to do.

"Alright, Night Mist, I will come along with you and see what is so urgent," Peridot said, still smiling. Hopefully this wasn't a complete waste of her time. It didn't seem to be sedition, that was all that really mattered at the moment.

She followed the mare out of the room, but paused briefly outside the door when she realized she was not the only pony being escorted. Water Shadow was there as well, though Peridot had failed to notice on the camera before. The sea blue alicorn with her white and blue striped mane being present wasn't much of a surprise though. If Sunset Shimmer wanted Peridot she likely had called upon Water Shadow as well. Peridot wondered what went on in the younger of the two alicorns' mind, but Water Shadow wouldn't let her pull her empathic tricks, the alicorn was more than capable of blocking Peridot out.

"Greetings, Water Shadow, any idea what the commotion is about?" Peridot asked the alicorn.

"I am as in the dark as you," Water Shadow replied in a stoic tone. "I have been watching the progress on the Klugian border, but have noticed no crisis there yet. It seems our combined forces are going to win the day from what I observed. The necromancer does not seem to have created any greater abominations to trouble us with this assault than regular undead."

By greater abominations she meant free thinking undead generals. Typically undead were mindless drones of the Mare of Shadows that the monster directed as a group. Occasionally the necromancer would create free thinking undead capable of directing groups of undead individually and that were capable of using magic themselves in combat. Peridot suspected that the Mare of Shadows did this sparingly because she didn't wish to relinquish any control to another, even a minion of her own creation. It was a blessing for Ocid that it was so sparingly done as the Dome would likely have long since been breached if they had to contend with hordes of such things.

"Well, let's go see what is so urgent then that she felt the need to call us without warning," Peridot replied. What could possibly be so urgent about a foal? Whatever it was, for today at least, Ocid survives.

The Mare of Shadows sat watching a glowing sphere. The sphere showed the progress of the battle on the Klugian border. She yawned as she watched, the outcome didn't really interest her. The attack wasn't a legitimate attempt to overrun their wall, just something to put additional pressure on her fellow acolyte to the south to make a move sooner. She didn't care about the Klugians in any way if not for that.

Hydia had crossed her by trying to convert Peridot over to the service of the Old Gods. The Mare of Shadow's contract called for the extermination of Ponykind and Ocid falling under the rule of a new acolyte would be troublesome to the Mare's ability to complete her blood contract.

Of course, finishing off the ponies too early would cause its own problems as well, timing was everything. It was best that things advanced as they were, so she could finish Ocid off when she was in her best position to move against her fellow acolytes. Only one of them would be granted their final reward for service, and the Mare was willing to play her game long and carefully.

She dismissed the orb. What she needed accomplished had been done, the Klugians were going to be celebrating a great victory, and the ponies would continue to bleed and despair. Hydia would have to refocus her efforts on the Klugian now and would stay out of pony affairs. All was right in the world, she would reform the undead that she had lost soon enough, they were never really ever permanently lost.

Her diamond dog attendants waited expectantly for her orders, living attendants had their uses provided they were well enough trained, and her dogs knew their place in relation to their god.

She didn't give them any orders. She simply turned and focused her attention on the stone casket that sat at the center of the room. She reminded herself that she needed patience and that she would eventually get what was taken from her returned. For now it was safe, no living creature aside from her and her diamond dogs knew of this place, not even her fellow acolytes.

A thought played at the back of her mind and she sighed. She was being called upon, it had to be Grogar, none of the others had the power to give her such a signal in the waking world, and her Elder God masters wouldn't bother. What did the old goat want? She detested him above all others, but he was currently the most favored among the acolytes, leaving her forced to respond. She couldn't wait for the day when she could crush his bell and rip out his throat.

She closed her eyes and allowed herself to fall into sleep. Her dogs would not bother her, they knew better than to disturb their mistress in her sleep.

She found herself in an endless black expanse in all directions. There was no sky, no horizon, no ground, just endless nothing. There was only one other thing in the expanse besides her, a simple table of bone and two cushioned seats. The goat apparently wanted a sit-down discussion.

She went to the table and took a seat. There was no discernible difference between the two seats, and there was nothing on the table, so her positioning made no difference. After sitting down she smelled the foul stench that announced her fellow necromancer.

"You are prompt as always, my dear, I typically have to give additional persuasion to bring the others," Grogar said from behind her. The massive demonic black ram walked from behind her and took the other seat across from her. He gazed at her with his fire filled eyes. He wouldn't intimidate her with his gaze, her own eyes were a match for his. She looked at the red collar with its bell around his neck longingly. How she yearned to crush his bell.

Her hoof rose involuntarily to her own matching collar and bell, she knew he longed to do much the same to hers. The bell was the container of their soul, and their chain to the Elder Gods. In a sick sense of utility the Elder Gods made those bells indestructible as long as the contract had not been completed. Once they accomplished what they were tasked to do they did indeed gain favor with their masters, but they also became vulnerable. Success came with risk, and it was a large part of why she let Ocid survive still, she was not prepared to put herself at such risk, yet.

There were suddenly golden goblets on the table. unicorn mare servants that were not there before came and filled each of the goblets for them. They would have been pretty mares, ones that she once upon a time would have enjoyed fantasizing about having in bed, but the goat had decided to create these phantoms with their eyes gouged out and bleeding. It was a trademark of that bastard to display gouged out eyes on his victims and she was bored of it. They all bore rictus grins as well, which just soured out the whole thing for her. She wondered if these were souls bound to his will or mearly illusions of his conjuring, not that it really mattered.

She looked at the drink that she had been served and saw him lift his own in his magic.

"Dragon blood," Grogar explained. "It has a very spicy taste and a nice aftertaste that has some kick to it."

"What do you want from me today, goat?" The Mare said, ignoring the pleasantries. She lifted her own goblet and took a drink, it was as he described. Not her preference, but still not unenjoyable.

"Straight to the point and not bothering to hold back your contempt for me I see," the ram heckled. "That is what I like about you, no sniveling in the dirt looking for favor."

She said nothing, just simply curled her lip in contempt at him.

"Getting to the point then. While you have been playing with your food in Ocid, and casually manipulating your fellow acolytes, there has been something that has come up that our masters wish for you to deal with," Grogar said with a returned sneer.

"I have no idea what you are talking about with manipulating," The Mare lied. "Ocid is of little concern as well. Those ponies are literally eating one another, the land reeks of despair, and my power grows stronger. At some point they will likely kill themselves off. I am on no time limit and I wish to savor my food."

"How much you play your games matters little to me, or our masters," the ram said dismissively. "As long as you fulfill the terms of your contract it matters not the timetable. This is another matter entirely."

"What then?" She asked.

Grogar conjured forth an image of a newborn foal. The Mare of Shadows looked at it for a long moment, noting all the details.

"A genetic anomaly," she finally responded. "Of no actual concern. Such things happen from time to time."

"True enough," Grogar replied. "But this foal was born with a cutie mark, that is something of significance. Something beyond the simple genetic anomalies that explain the rest of her. Our masters have concerns, which means we shall be concerned as well. Do something about this anomaly."

"I don't see the need to be concerned," she replied with a sigh. "The ponies in Ocid will likely put an end to this foal themselves with their broken system. But if it means so much to our masters I will take action. Was there anything else that you needed me for or can we bring this meeting to an end?"

"No, that was all. You are free to wake and be about your task now," Grogar answered and took one final sip from his goblet.

The Mare of Shadows left him sitting there and opened her eyes.

Back in her hidden sanctuary she sat and considered what to do. The foal was within their Dome which meant she either had to breach the Dome or get them to give the foal over to her. She really had no intention of breaching the Dome yet, the time wasn't right for it. Which meant getting them to willingly give the foal over to her. How to do that? She needed help thinking.

"Minions, bring me a pony from one of the pens, one of the healthier ones," she commanded.

A diamond dog scurried away to obey her orders. She just sat waiting and stared at the casket as she did. This situation could force her into ending Ocid, which in turn would leave her vulnerable. That was not acceptable. If she took too long the Elder Gods would become displeased, which could mean giving her bell over to the possession of Grogar. He couldn't destroy the bell, but he could do a lot of other things to her with the bell in his possession, things she would rather not contemplate.

The diamond dog returned quickly hauling a chained unicorn stallion. She had her minions capture a few ponies from time to time to aid in her amusement. This one looked to be in good enough health. He was strong enough to struggle as he was dragged into the chamber.

She walked toward the pony and sent out from her black fur waves of magic, shadowy waves that looked like flame and smoke, but gave off no heat. She wrapped the pony in her magic and smiled at it as the struggling stopped and he stared at her in blind adulation.

"Hello, little pony, do you wish to make me happy?" she asked seductively as she smiled down at him.

"Oh yes, Goddess," the unicorn said as he stared up at her, complete devotion in his eyes.

"Oh I am glad, let me take that horrible suit off you. Would you like that, little pony?" She formed a jagged knife in the air.

"Oh please do so, Goddess," he replied, still staring at her with absolute love.

She used the knife in her telekinetic grasp to cut through the suit. The knife got bloody as she cut flesh as well as the suit's bindings. She then ripped the remaining bits of suit away with her magic.

"I seem to have cut you a bit while freeing you from your bindings. You don't mind that now do you?" She said sweetly to him. She brought the knife back towards herself and licked the blood off it.

"No, Goddess, I don't mind anything you do at all," the enthralled stallion replied.

"Again, I am so glad. I notice you never got your cutie mark, it is such a shame that a pony should never learn their talents or purpose in life. I am going to do you a favor and give you a purpose, would you like that?" She smiled, still licking clean the knife.

"Oh yes, Goddess, whatever purpose you have for me," he grinned stupidly.

"Good," she said, bringing the knife back towards him. "I am trying to think of the solution to a problem and I need your help. I am going to eat you alive, slowly but surely, and I tell you not to struggle or cry out. You can whimper though, whimpering is such a soothing background sound. Can you do this for me? Can you help me think?"

"Whatever you ask of me, Goddess," he complied again.

"Good, let's begin then." As she said that she sunk the knife into his fur and began skinning it off, fur got into her teeth. She would use little amounts of magic here and there to keep him living through the whole process and awake. That made the meal so much more delicious. Surely by the time she was done eating she would have thought of a solution. She so enjoyed playing with her food.

The computer was done analyzing the foal and had deemed it healthy, a great relief. Sunset Shimmer looked down at the strange little filly and wondered what future in Ocid was meant for her. She was something outside the parameters of the system and something she feared Peridot would force into breeding immediately at seventeen years old.

She looked at the little filly's cutie mark. It gave her reason to be wary. The mark was one that Sunset Shimmer was the only living thing that would recognize it for what it was. It was a symbol far older than herself and from another world on top of that. It had no business being on any pony's flank, it was an impossibility. But here she was staring down at the little ankh on the filly's flank. Sunset had not been to the world that symbol came from since she was no older than Midnight Glow and she knew that symbol had been ancient there. She wracked her mind to try to remember what it meant, it was just so long ago, and she never paid such things attention at the time. It seemed like something of incredible importance to know now though.

She floated the little filly over to Midnight's grasp. The new mother gasped as she beheld for the first time the little life she had brought into the world. There was no apprehension or fear in her look, just love for her precious little filly. Midnight was a good pony. She took the foal into her forelegs and nuzzled it gently, wrapping her own leathery, bat-like wings around the filly protectively.

"The computer is awaiting a name for the foal to finish registering it," Sunset told the new mother. "What will be her name?"

Midnight sat in thought for a moment, still lovingly nuzzling her foal. She then picked her head up and looked down at the little snow-white filly.

"Her name is Dove, just simply Dove," Midnight said with adoration.

"Name acknowledged. Registering pegasus filly 0000000001, designated Dove. Ocid survives," the computer declared. Midnight nuzzled her daughter's white feathered wings.

"Ocid survives," Sunset said quietly.

Chapter 2: Calm Before The Storm

Midnight Glow sat silently as the elevator slowly descended to the city street. Up until a few months ago she had never used the elevator to go down to the street, but pregnancy had caused her to start needing to use it rather than attempt to glide. Now the reason was she had a squirming foal in a special saddle bag meant for foals on her side. She could possibly carry Dove down in a glide like this, but Midnight was still working to get herself back into shape a few months after giving birth. She worried she would make a mistake in her glide in her current physical condition and end up hurting Dove.

Dove was happily cooing and giggling in the saddle bag, watching the sights of the city outside the window as they descended to the ground. Dove rarely cried, she had to do something to hurt herself to shed a tear. Her naturally happy disposition brought a smile to Midnight's face as her filly's joy at the world was infectious.

Midnight was tired though. She had to get up early every morning to make sure Dove's fur was properly dyed to hide her cutie mark. She also had to make sure her daughter's wings were properly concealed beneath a tiny smock that she had been provided by Sunset. Her white mane on white fur looked odd, and Midnight had been debating dying her daughter's mane some other color so she didn't stand out so much. It didn't matter much now, but it could eventually become an issue that could cause her problems.

The authorities were well aware of her daughter being a pegasus, but it was something she tried to keep secret from most ponies. Keeping it secret was going to get challenging when her foal reached the age she would begin schooling. Her registration would be known to the teachers, and she could just imagine her daughter's wings being revealed to other school-foals with ease. By then at least her having a cutie mark already might not be as shocking, as some foals did get them very young, just not before they were even able to talk.

Dove's cutie mark still was a completely unanswered question. Sunset claimed that she recognized the symbol, but couldn't remember what it meant, nor would she explain where she even saw the symbol before. She called it an ankh, which just sounded like a nonsense word to Midnight. Water Shadow was even less helpful, saying she was completely unfamiliar with the symbol altogether. Midnight had done her best to try to research the symbol herself, but the computer didn't have anything that remotely matched it. Dove had not yet demonstrated anything that indicated the nature of her mark.

Dove's future did seem to be predetermined though sadly. Peridot had made it explicitly clear that the second Dove turned seventeen she was getting suited up as a breeder. Any hope that they could return the pegasi tribe from extinction rested in Dove's uterus. Dove would be paid extra by the government, and treated especially well they assured Midnight, Dove was beyond simply extremely valuable after all. They even said they were open to letting Dove personally raise every pegasus foal she bore, instead of the normal one foal limit. No matter what though, Dove was going to breed and that was final.

Midnight was still making peace with this knowledge. It was the sensible thing to do, and what best served the greater good. Midnight had even gained increased respect for the breeders through her friendship with Sweet Pea. She just hated that her daughter had no hope of anything else for her life. She had resolved that she would make Dove better prepared for such a future than Sweet Pea's mother had left her foal.

Dove giggled loudly as the elevator came to a jarring stop at ground level. She did this each time they took this ride. The manner of how the elevator stopped each time had annoyed Midnight to no end before Dove was born, but the fact that her little filly took enjoyment from it each time had softened Midnight's feelings about the elevator's behavior, and even the choke inducing smell of piss within it was bearable. Not that Dove understood how terrible the smell was yet, it was all she had ever known.

"Okay my little giggle-butt," Midnight said to her foal. "It's time to take you to see your Auntie Sweet Pea. Mamma needs to start being able to go to work without you in tow, and we are going to start getting you used to being around the breeding center."

"Waa?" Dove answered her back. It sounded questioning to Midnight, she wasn't sure how much of anything Dove understood yet. She doubted that the little filly actually understood a word yet. She still took the time to explain things to Dove none the less.

"You'll like your Auntie Sweet Pea," Midnight assured her daughter. "And Auntie Sweet Pea will be happy to see you."

"Waba," Dove responded back, and then proceeded to start chewing, with a great deal of slobber, on the side of the saddle bag.

Midnight hoped that watching over Dove would improve Sweet Pea's mood as of late. Sweet Pea's first foal had been a Crystal Pony colt, and she had given him to Foal Services. The unicorn had been depressed since then. It was recommended to the unicorn breeders that they wait until there was a unicorn filly to keep the foal and to give all other foals till then to Foal Services. Giving the colt up had broken Sweet Pea's heart. Sweet Pea had just gotten pregnant again, only a week into it so far, hopefully this one would be a unicorn filly.

Midnight approached the breeding center that Sweet Pea where housed and employed. A few of the breeders who were standing around outside trying to attract in clients gave her a wave as she passed them, but made no attempt to try to lure her into bed. Midnight was a familiar face at this center, and they knew she wasn't here for sex. They kept a respectful distance from her so they didn't get any of the smoke from their burning lustwort near her. She didn't know any of their names, except Soiled Satin, but she had come to understand they were nice enough mares, most of the time anyway. She had seen them very aggressively use that lustwort smoke to get stallions into the brothel before.

When Midnight entered into the lobby she found Sweet Pea immediately. The green as her namesake unicorn was sitting in the corner watching several unicorn fillies of varying young ages. Sweet Pea looked up at Midnight as she entered and smiled. The boss sitting at the desk didn't do more than give Midnight a quick nod.

"It's good to see you," Sweet Pea said. She sounded a bit subdued, and her yellow eyes a red tinge to them, but the reply seemed honest. She lifted the saddle bag with Dove in it off of Midnight's back and floated the little filly over to herself, with Dove giggling happily all the while. "I haven't gotten to see much of you little one, I'm looking forward to having you for the day."

"Are you feeling okay today?" Midnight asked her friend. Sweet Pea looked like she was definitely having a rough time.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just dealing with lustwort withdrawal symptoms," Sweet Pea explained. "It isn't typically something that mares like you would get addicted to it with light use, but with how much we use it here addiction happens. Coming off it due to pregnancy can be a little rough. I went through this last time, but you were a little preoccupied with your own pregnancy and may not have realized."

"What does withdraw do to you?" Midnight asked. It wasn't just general concern for her friend that motivated the question, though she was definitely concerned for her; Dove would someday deal with these kinds of things as well, and Midnight wanted to be well informed about everything that her daughter would go through and what she should eventually teach Dove about.

"Different mares have different symptoms," Sweet Pea explained. "There's the intense craving for lustwort of course, but they keep it away from us when going through pregnancy. I get a little shaky sometimes. I'm really hungry, but I don't really have any appetite. I have to force myself to eat. I also have some trouble sleeping. It'll pass in another week or two, but will be miserable in the meantime"

"Will you be alright with Dove?" Midnight asked. "I don't want to overburden you if you aren't feeling well."

"I'll be fine," Sweet Pea assured her. "I'm on foal sitting duties right now anyway. If things get too much for me with the fillies I can always call on some of the fourteen or fifteen year old ones to give me aid."

"Why not the sixteen year olds?" Midnight asked. It seemed like the ones on the cusp of adulthood should be the ones helping out more.

"Those ones have to keep away from me when I am in withdrawal," Sweet Pea said with a forced laugh. "They start using lustwort at that age. They reek of it, and aren't responsible enough to be trusted not to try to slip me a lustwort joint if I pressure them. I'd like to say I wouldn't do such a thing, but I can't say that with confidence. They spend most of their time watching monitors showing feeds of breeders with clients. It's considered educational, gives them something to channel all that sexual energy from the lustwort into, and gives us a warning system if any mare is in danger of getting seriously hurt by one of her clients."

The breeders seemed like their own society into themselves. There was so much more involvement by ponies, even when not working a shift or officially old enough to be breeders yet. Their jobs dictated so much more of their lives than Midnight's did, but surprisingly made them do more to look out for one another. Midnight wondered if such a thing occurred with the farmers and factory workers who also had to endure things together. She felt a small pang of jealousy that her own job didn't foster such community with her fellow acolytes. They all worked separate shifts with only their Alicorn for company. After her initial training she spent more time with Water Shadow's acolytes than her fellow acolytes with Sunset Shimmer.

Midnight looked down at her foreleg and grunted, time for her shift was approaching quickly. She kissed her daughter on her head, which made Dove giggle again happily, and made towards the door.

"I need to hurry to my shift, I'll be back as soon as it's done," Midnight told her friend.

"She'll be here and waiting. If we aren't still in the lobby I'll have her in my room with me," Sweet Pea said, as she floated the happy filly onto her back. "Hurry up before you're late."

With a final wave of her wing, Midnight hurried out the door and towards the Crystal Spire.

Sunset stared at each of the monitors in her room that displayed the area beyond the Dome. Aside from farming there was no activity. The drones that circled out in a larger radius outside the Dome saw no activity whatsoever, and that was troubling. They should find some undead milling about somewhere, even if they weren't massing together for an attack, but the land was quiet. Where were they? Drones needed to be sent out further to find out, if they were massing further away from the Dome than normal it could indicate a much larger assault than normal was coming, one that Ocid's military would need to know the direction of attack. There was also the possibility of multiple fronts massing out of view, with other groups even farther back than whichever they found first. She had seen this tactic before from the Mare of Shadows; she would pull on her forces back, create a large mass of troops that would be found first, have the country commit too many forces to one place to meet the horde only to have even larger forces assault from other locations. The fact that Sunset knew this tactic helped guard against falling into that trap, but she still needed to know where all those forces were at right now. A mistake could mean the Dome being breached, once that happened Ocid would soon fall.

The other troubling thing was that the necromancer would be well aware that Sunset Shimmer, Water Shadow, and Peridot Glow had seen this type of tactic before, and would be preparing for it. That meant there had to be even more going on. What in Tartarus was the necromancer planning? They needed more information, and they needed it soon. The drones just weren't capable of surveying the area fast enough though. Something else would need to be done, they couldn't afford to be caught unaware.

She considered her options for finding out more. The best option she could think of was reckless, but the fact that it was spur of the moment and unexpected likely would give her protection. Shadow and Peridot wouldn't be too happy with her for doing it, but they needed more information. The only other problem was making sure she was still attended while doing it. She really didn't need acolytes hanging around her every second of her life, but they would get in trouble if they didn't.

"When you leave today, please go speak to Water Shadow and have her meet me here in three hours. I'll be preoccupied before then, but will need to speak with her right away at that point," Sunset addressed Moon Fury.

"Yes, mistress," Moon Fury replied in the normal monotone. The stallion was a puzzle for her at times. He clearly did care about things, but rarely asked any questions or had any visible emotional reaction. It made him a good servant, but a rather boring one to have about.

Just then the door opened to admit Midnight Glow. She saw Moon Fury give his typical acknowledgement of the other thestral, before departing himself.

"Midnight, I'll have you postpone your normal report for now if there isn't anything pressing in it," Sunset said as she looked at her youngest acolyte.

"There's nothing that's urgent right now, mistress," Midnight replied.

"I didn't expect there'd be," Sunset replied. "Follow with me, we're going to go up top today."

Midnight looked like she was trying to hide her excitement at this announcement. Sunset rarely went up the elevator to the outside of the Dome. She was planning to do more than just go outside the Dome today though. The poor little acolyte was going to likely be struggling to contain a heart attack from what Sunset planned.

"How is your friend doing? I see you dropped Dove off with her," Sunset said as the elevator rose.

"She says she's suffering from lustwort withdraw, I'm not sure if that's really it or not, she's been really down since she gave up her colt," Midnight replied with a frown.

"Drug withdrawal can be rough, but you're right, she likely is suffering more from depression. There's nothing easily gotten over when having to give up a foal," Sunset replied with her own frown. "How'd you do with giving her over to Sweet Pea today? This is your first day without her with you."

"I'm coping," Midnight said with a sigh. "I'm trying really hard to do right by her. I know she was just born two months ago, but I want to do everything I can to get her prepared for life. That means starting to make the breeding center her home away from home. She can get used to being at the place, and though she is young still she can get to be friends with the unicorn fillies she will eventually end up working with when she grows up. I hate that she has no hope for anything else, but I suppose there are worse places than the breeders to end up."

"I noticed you don't refer to it as a brothel anymore," Sunset replied back with a smirk, catching the change in her acolyte's language.

"It feels kind of rude to call it that, they do more than just have sex. I guess I just never really gave them proper respect before, but I'm trying to do better now. Having a best friend who is a breeder, and having my own daughter destined to be one, makes me have to re-examine how I look at things. I think I was unfair before," Midnight replied back in a thoughtful tone.

"I admit I've prejudices of my own with that profession," Sunset admitted. They would likely always be prostitutes in her mind, but perhaps that could change. "And you're right, they're likely unfair. I'm proud of you for moving on from those prejudices."

The reached the top and the elevator opened to fresh air and blue skies. There was a small area to walk around just outside the elevator. Sunset typically only came out here when she felt a desire to actually see the sky with her own eyes and feel the air outside the Dome. Living within Ocid was a claustrophobic and suffocating experience. She needed to get out once and a while, even if the outside was unsafe. This particular spot was at a point that an assault from anything was nearly impossible, but not completely impossible. Nothing could attack this spot without her being well aware of it coming well ahead of time at least.

Beside her Midnight was shielding her eyes wing one of her wings. Daylight was very different than the light that most ponies were used to. Artificial lights were nothing compared to the true light of the sun. Part of the adjustment period for the farmers was just getting them used to functioning in natural light. Ponies lived their whole lives without ever feeling the sun shine on their faces. This was one of the costs of survival.

Sunset wasn't up here simply to enjoy the day this time though. There was a task that needed doing. She gave the thestral time to adjust and enjoy herself for the moment though.

"I'm always so amazed by the sky out here," Midnight said breathlessly. "It seems like it goes on forever."

"Because it does," Sunset replied with a smile. "You can just keep going up and up, there won't ever be any ceiling to hit, and eventually you will get so high that there isn't any air left to breathe. If you were out here at night you would see the moon in the sky, which is so far away you could fly towards it for a week and still not reach it. You would also see the stars which are even farther away, so far away you could fly for a thousand lifetimes and still not get halfway to the closest one. And if you were to somehow manage to reach beyond those stars, to the very edge of the universe, even that is not the end. Beyond the edge is a great empty expanse where eventually you find other universes beyond."

"If they are so far away how do you know they're there?" Midnight asked with a tilt of her head.

"I've been to other universes," Sunset replied. "Or at least a reflection of them. It's funny, I have more clue what's out there in some of those universes than I do in our own. Your daughter's cutie mark is from one of those universes."

"Another universe?" Midnight gasped, an eager expression on her face. "How? What does that mean for her?"

"I honestly don't have an answer to those questions," Sunset said with a sigh. She recalled the old hurt of the deliberate destruction of that mirror by Twilight. "The gateway to that place was sealed long before even Harmony fell. I raged at the other alicorns for sealing it, and never really got over it. It was a home to me for a long time, but such gateways are dangerous. The Elder Gods touch our world from one of those gateways, some other universe than that one. It's best to keep some things sealed away."

"What was that universe like? The one Dove's cutie mark is from?" Midnight asked, sitting down and taking a position like a foal in a class.

"I only ever saw a small speck of it myself, but it was not so alien as you might think," Sunset said nostalgically. "Societies you could imagine existing here, they were kind of like the Klugians or the Neosapians in some ways, though clearly not the same things by any means. They had similar emotions, cared for their loved ones, capable of great good and great evil, not so different than us, despite our exterior differences. Our own computers are actually designed after theirs, based on my recollection of them. I learned alot about technology there. I wonder what that world is like now sometimes, it has been so long, but I'll never find out though. That is sealed away from us now."

"If our computers are based off theirs did we get the idea for the suits from them too?" Midnight asked, her ears lowered.

"No, those are our own terrible creations," Sunset sighed. "We can't pass the blame for their existence to others. I wish I had taken a greater stand against them before they became part of our society. It's one of many things I regret."

"Oh," Midnight replied. She didn't look as happy as she had when they first came up the elevator. Since Midnight's mood was spoiled anyway Sunset guessed it was time to do what she came out here for.

"I didn't bring us up here just for the sight and fresh air," Sunset said. "I need you to get on my back and hold on tight. I'm going to be taking a flight around. If you think you might lose your grip bite onto the back of my neck."

"A flight.." Midnight's eyes widened. She looked around in horror. "Won't I hurt you if I bite your neck, mistress?"

"You can't hurt an alicorn with your bite," Sunset replied. This was partially true. A bite from a thestral's fangs would no doubt be painful, and draw blood, but alicorn bodies were far too solidly built for a normal pony to do any serious injury to one. Sunset could deal with the pain, but she wasn't going to have Midnight fall off her. "I'm also incredibly strong, so I'll barely feel your weight. If you notice me bleed at all at a bite don't concern yourself, it isn't anything serious. You just do what you need to in order to stay on."

"Yes, mistress," Midnight said in a quiet voice. Sunset could see that her acolyte was shaking slightly. If she could have gotten away with leaving Midnight behind she would have, but the thestral would be punished if Sunset left her behind, not Sunset.

Midnight jumped into a brief hover and lowered herself down onto Sunset's back. The thestral then wrapped her legs and wings around Sunset's torso as best she could. The grip would be alright for a little while, but it was clear that at some point Midnight would be forced to bite to hang on.

"Keep yourself on me no matter what, and don't speak. I want you as completely focused on staying attached to my back as possible. Do I make myself clear?" Sunset could feel Midnight trembling, but she felt her nod back a yes. Midnight would be alright as long as she bit down when it came to it. It would take much more than Sunset's flying to dislodge a thestral once they had bit down on flesh. Those bites had over a ton of force in them.

Sunset jumped and flapped her wings, quickly gaining altitude. Midnight tensed up on her back, muscles too tense to even tremble. The alicorn did a circle in the air as she gained some momentum and picked a direction in which to go. Finally deciding to go in the direction the Dome ended soonest she took off at high speeds.

Sunset winced in pain as she felt Midnight bite down much sooner than she had anticipated. It did bloody damn hurt like Tartarus, but she could endure it. At least Midnight was now secure for sure. Knowing now that she wasn't going to be in danger of losing her passenger Sunset picked up her speed.

What she was doing was dangerous. If the Mare of Shadows was not far on the other side of the continent, as Sunset expected, then she was in big trouble. She was no match for the necromancer if she was engaged in battle, and it would end with there being only Water Shadow left among the alicorns. Sunset had faith that the necromancer was too far away for the time being, and that the unexpected nature of what she was doing now would be too much of a surprise to have the Mare respond quickly enough to get to her.

Sunset quickly cleared the Dome area and the farms that were just beyond then entered into the Dead Lands. She was moving at incredible speed that no mortal pony was capable of going, and was now only a few leagues north the ruins of Harmony. There was no sign of the undead hordes yet, even though this area should typically be crawling with them. She decided to turn her course so she would go just west of Harmony's ruins, avoiding the ruins themselves.

Remains of long dead towns and villages passed below her. Most were in such decay that only her knowledge that they were there let her eyes pick up the details indicating their existence. This land was once lush and green, now it was just dirt in brown, grey, and black. The air had a stale smell to it, like she was going into a tomb despite being outside. It brought tears to her eyes. She saw this all the time on the drone images, but being out here in the flesh made it all the more real.

As she moved far beyond the current radius of the drones she pulled herself to a quick halt as her heart dropped in her chest. In the distance she had found the undead, she didn't realize at first what she was seeing, and the reason for that was a thing of nightmares. There was a great grey mass and she realized it was the horde, packed densely and tightly going far off into the horizon. They were massed as they never had been before, there were hundreds of millions, perhaps billions. Nothing could withstand such an assault if they moved against it, not Klugia, not Ocid, and perhaps not all remaining life in the world.

Why were they not pressing forward now? They had the force to crush Ocid and Klugia quickly. With the full force of both nations she didn't think either would hold through a day against this never-ending tide. Two or three days before the Wall and Dome were completely overrun in the absolute best case scenario. If the necromancer had this kind of force what was she waiting for?

Sunset would not dare to get any closer. Whether the Mare of Shadows was present or not this many undead were far more than she could hope to combat if she were to be attacked. She might have been able to put up a decent fight centuries before when Harmony stood still, but now she wasn't much better in a fight than an adept unicorn. She needed to get back to Ocid now, and alert the others of what she had seen. She didn't know what they could possibly do to prepare for this, but the quicker the warning the more chance they might think of some final hope.

Sunset turned her flight back and flew like she had never flown before.

The Mare was bored, sitting around waiting for another to fall asleep left her sitting in the dream realm doing nothing. She could catch glances of a few points of light that indicated dreamers that she had some familiarity with, but her current quarry was not yet asleep. She just had to be patient, the alicorn had spent a great deal of energy on her little flight after a long period of being sedentary. Even with her rushing to alert her compatriots about the Mare's little surprise she would need to sleep soon to regather her strength. If she had more energy than expected it was still only going to be a matter of hours, and the necromancer had nothing else she needed to be doing at this moment.

She spotted another light pop into existence, again the wrong one, but one that she would need to note for later. Peridot was asleep now, and the immortal crystal pony would possibly be needed later if things didn't go according to plan. The Mare really didn't want to have to invade Peridot's dreams, but saw little other option if it came to it. It would be trying to get what she wanted out of Peridot or razing the Dome, neither were appealing options. Hopefully Sunset would behave as expected. She was still seething about Hydia attempting to subvert Ocid's leader to the Elder Gods.

A new flash of light appeared in the void which brought a smile to her face. The time to play her game was finally here. She entered into the point of light and formed up an appropriate dreamscape for this meeting. She sealed it so Sunset would not wake until either the necromancer left or she released Sunset from the dream herself. She wasn't actually aware of how much power Sunset had in the dream realm, but she had never seen this alicorn do any magic infused dreams, so it was likely she would be completely helpless. This wasn't going to be like trying to take on some of the stronger, now dead, dreamers such as Luna.

The golden alicorn was standing gazing at a fireplace that was in a large sitting room that could have been located anywhere in the Great Tree before it was pulled down. The room had some strange inversions, and the fireplace gave off shadows into what would be an otherwise brightly lit room instead of lighting a dark room. There wasn't much more need for showmareship with this dream.

"Aw Sunset, so glad to get a chance to sit down and talk to you," The Mare said as she entered into the room.

Sunset Shimmer went on the defensive, first attempting to teleport away, which of course failed. She next tried to wake herself realizing that she was asleep, something she should be proud to have realized as most ponies didn't realize they were in a dream right away, that of course failed too. The alicorn's next action was to try to blast her with a huge wave of magic. That kind of tactic would have cost the alicorn greatly in the waking world. The Mare simply let the blast hit her and ignored it.

"You can't escape this dream Sunset, I'm in control of it," The Mare said with a smile. "But if it makes you feel better we can't actually hurt each other while in this dream. I'm just here to have a friendly conversation, there isn't any need to be so hostile."

"There's nothing to talk about demon," Sunset snarled back, still with her front held low and wings high in an defensive stance.

"I think there is," The Mare replied back calmly. "Talking is always so much better than violence don't you think? By the way, did you enjoy your little sight seeing tour a little while ago? I was watching you. I'm sure it was quite the impressive view for you."

"Are you trying to get me to put on one of those infernal bell collars to save my life? I won't do it," Sunset growled before spitting.

"You have no idea how relieved I am to hear that actually. I have far too many other acolytes that I need to finish off in the future. Did you know that hag Hydia tried to get one on your Ponymother? Don't worry, Peridot refused it. I promise to make sure Hydia suffers when her time finally comes," The Mare laughed as she finished talking. Sunset looked visibly shaken at the news that Hydia had made an attempt to bring Peridot over as an acolyte for the Elder Gods. That was good to see, it would make her more amendable to doing one of the two things she wanted the alicorn to possibly do.

"So why are you speaking to me? It seems like all you need to do is have your armies come down on us and finish us off," Sunset said suspiciously. The alicorn still had not relaxed her position.

"As I said there's no need for violence, if I can get what I want. I'm content to let things continue as they are for now. Oh, don't mistake me, I will crush Ocid, eventually, but I can delay that for hundreds of years yet. Plenty of time for you all to keep doing that whole Ocid survives thing," She replied back with a smile.

"What do you want?" Sunset growled again.

"Nothing much, a very small thing really. You had a little pegasus filly born recently. I personally could care less, but my masters are insistent that the filly needs to be dealt with so I must comply. Give me the filly and I'll let you all just keep eating each other for the foreseeable future. She is just going to get murdered by your own kind in a few decades anyway and ground up as meal bars, what's the point of delaying it if turning her over to me will save you all now?" She conjured up a few of the Ocid meal bars and tossed them at Sunset to punctuate her point.

Sunset Shimmer just sat there glaring at her. She wasn't sure what the alicorn was thinking, she doubted that Sunset would comply, but there was a chance. It was one of the two possibilities that she was hoping would happen. The other seemed more likely. The final option that could happen was hopefully going to be avoided, that involved her actually having to take.

"If you don't feel up to doing it yourself, I'm sure that I can convince Peridot to do it for you. I'm certain she will do whatever it takes to see that her precious Ocid survives. I expect that filly to be outside the Dome by tomorrow morning at dawn for me to take, alive or dead, I don't care what state she is in. Please be prompt." The Mare finished. Without giving Sunset time to answer, or time to think further, she forced the alicorn out of the dream where she would no doubt wake up quickly.

The Mare of Shadows opened her own eyes and came back to the waking world in the Sanctuary Tomb. She didn't show it to the alicorn but she was tired. Raising an army of that size had been incredibly straining. Unfortunately there was still one last thing she needed to do that was going to strain her for tonight. She needed blood and death to bring her power back to normal, such was the curse of her corruption by the Elder Gods.

"Bring me every last pony that is currently in the pens, I need a lot of blood. Bring me three of the alicorn corpses as well to work with, I don't care which ones. If the guardian of the vaults comes after you tell her that I sent you for them, and then she will let you take them," she commanded her diamond dogs. She might have to sacrifice a few of her dogs as well. This was going to take a lot of power and she needed to be at her regular level still after this. She expected she had an alicorn to kill soon.

Chapter 3: Decisions to Make

Night Mist sat watching her mistress and Water Shadow talking in an agitated manner in the corner away from her and the others. Beside Night Mist sat her son, Cotton Tail, who was an acolyte to Water Shadow. To her other side sat Moon Fury, stoic as ever. Her mistress had been in a clear panic, and the second Moon Fury had arrived for his shift had sent her running to go get Water Shadow. Her mistress had given no explanation, but had ordered her to return with the other alicorn instead of going home.

"What do you think is going on, Mom?" Cotton Tail asked her, he had been on duty with Water Shadow when she had come to fetch the alicorn and had been distressed to see Night Mist out of breath from running.

"I can only fear the worst, dear," Night Mist replied back quietly, still watching the two agitated alicorns. "She just woke up in a panic and was nearly incoherent due to how upset she was. The very second Moon Fury walked through the door she had me running to go get you two. I don't think he was even fully through the door, I'm pretty sure I had to shove by him in the doorway."

"She is having you run way too much lately. You should not be wearing yourself out," her son complained. "You're getting older, and my mistress is pretty sure that the Ponymother is itching to find an excuse to get acolytes in that she hoof picked. I don't want to lose you to the Bakery because you've worn yourself out running."

"I wouldn't worry about that right now," she replied. "Based on what my mistress saw earlier today we're going to be facing our final assault from the undead horde soon enough. I think at this point the ponies going to the Bakery might be getting off easier. These are likely our final days no matter what. We're all going to be ripped limb from limb by those abominations soon. Whatever the Ponymother was planning is of no more consequence."

"We've beaten back the horde for centuries, I'm sure that we can still hold out," Cotton Tail replied.

"Not this time," Night Mist said sadly. "Based on what Sunset saw there is no way of holding this back. The necromancer has risen an army of unbelievable size, they'll easily overwhelm us. This is the end, son."

"Maybe not," Water Shadow interjected, startling the mother and son. "Sunset and I have a plan. But we're going to be breaking a lot of rules. If any of you three wish to have no part in this you're welcome to leave now. I'm not sure if the Ponymother will punish you or not for this if you stand aside, you'll almost certainly be punished if you stand with us and are caught. However, if we don't do this every pony will surely be slaves to the necromancer either alive or dead."

"My life belongs to my mistress, I'd have been long dead without her. I'll follow her into anything," Night Mist replied back without hesitation, standing to attention as she did.

"I guess we have little choice but to help, mistress. If this is will keep ponies safe it is our duty anyway," Cotton Tail replied in a low voice, with his head lowered.

"Sounds interesting, I'm at your service as always," Moon Fury replied in the same voice as always, bowing his head slightly.

"Good," Sunset Shimmer said. "Because we're about to do something that will likely be considered treasonous. The necromancer wants Midnight Glow's filly, she is massing that army for the sole purpose of taking it. I've no idea why the necromancer wants the filly, but I have no intention of giving anything that she wants to her; it can only turn out ill for us in the end. We're going to take that filly and make a break away from Ocid. Hopefully the necromancer will follow us."

Sweet Pea sat in her room talking with Midnight. The unicorn was trying to not show how dejected she felt at the moment. The other breeders had come and collected up their fillies as their shifts ended, and now her friend was here to collect the last one; though they had just been hanging out and talking for a while. Her mind couldn't help drifting off to her colt that she had to give up.

Her friend kept talking to her, and Sweet Pea made an attempt to listen. It seemed like it was something important about the undead outside, but if she was honest she couldn't say what was really being discussed. She felt guilty for not really paying attention, but she was too caught up in her own thoughts. She was giving back quick one word responses and nodding along, but her mind was elsewhere.

Was some other breeder who was on milking duty feeding Sweet Pea's little colt right now? Was he sleeping? Did Foal Services treat him well? She knew she shouldn't be thinking about him. She had been told to not think of the foals she bore as hers. They were property of Foal Services. She would get to keep a unicorn filly if she bore one. Until then she was not to get attached to any foal she had. Getting told all of this didn't help one little bit, she wanted her foal, and she resented that it was taken from her.

Sweet Pea had come to realize she loved everything about foals since starting her job. She enjoyed midwifing their mothers, she enjoyed nursing them, she enjoyed foalsitting them. She didn't have her cutie mark before her suit was put on, but she could imagine that under the black plastic now sat a mark saying that caring for foals was her purpose and talent.

"Are you okay, Sweet Pea?" Midnight asked her, bringing Sweet Pea out of her thoughts. Her friend looked at her with concern clearly etched on her face.

"I'm fine. I'm just dealing with withdrawal symptoms still," Sweet Pea answered. It wasn't a complete lie. She longed for some lustwort, and she had a mild headache as well. Part of why she wanted the lustwort was it made her focus on wanting sex instead of letting her mind drift to thinking about how she had to give up her colt. It would be such a relief to just be thinking about how much she wanted some pony to screw her right now. But at the moment that drive wasn't there at all.

It wasn't really a bad thing that the drive wasn't there. In the few months last year when both of them were not pregnant it had been actually been difficult to resist trying to entice Midnight into bed. It would have only taken some steady smoke from her lustwort getting breathed in by Midnight and Sweet Pea could have had her friend for a plaything. She did do exactly that to other mares in that time period. It wasn't just greed for bits that motivated her to do it, it was just the overwhelming need to get screwed. However, that would have felt like a betraying her friend, and Midnight had been a good friend to her; a friend who was more or less asexual though. It had been nice when they were both pregnant and there was no lustwort in her system, and they could just be friends without Sweet Pea thinking of doing such things. It would have been nice now too, if it weren't for her thoughts and drug withdrawal, but Midnight did help with Sweet Pea's mood still.

Midnight had been eager since Dove's birth to learn more about what all the breeders did. Sweet Pea had shared a lot of the same misconceptions before she became one. Yes, they did act as prostitutes, there was no prettying that fact up, but the majority of the time they were pregnant, which took them away from that duty. Sweet Pea now actually felt pride in being a breeder. She knew her friend was concerned about Dove's future, but being a breeder wasn't a bad thing. Sweet Pea was now doing her best to emphasize the wonderful parts of being a breeder to Midnight to try to help calm those fears, and she felt she was making good headway in doing that. Dove could possible be very happy as a breeder when she grew up, especially if pegasi foals she produced ended up being more common births than the unicorn ones Sweet Pea and the others produced. Sweet Pea was secretly jealous of Dove that she might keep many foals when she grew up. Keeping multiple foals would have have been a dream come true.

It was unfair that they should impose a one foal limit on any pony. Foal Services was not fit to raise foals like an actual mother. She should not be just some foal producing machine, she should be able to mother her offspring. The system was unjust to both the foals and the mothers.

She held a hoof over her belly for a moment. What would become of this one? Would it be another foal she would be pressured into giving up as she waited for her unicorn filly? If it did end up being a unicorn filly how would she explain to her daughter, as she got closer to adulthood, that she would be forced to surrender her foals time and time again to Foal Services? Why did they have to do this? Perhaps Midnight knew whatever technical reason the government had for it. There had to be some reasoning, and Midnight as an acolyte likely had a good chance of knowing it.

She was just about to ask her friend about it when there was a knock at the door. The door opened and the two friends were shocked to see Sunset Shimmer quickly enter, followed by Water Shadow, Midnight's fellow acolytes to Sunset, and a final stallion Sweet Pea did not know.

Sunset quickly cast some sort of spell as she entered. When all the ponies got into the room it they were all practically standing on top of one another due to trying to hold so many ponies, two of them very large ones, in one tiny room.

"I've put a sound suppression spell on this room and scrambled the camera feeds. We don't have much time. I fear that Peridot will be coming for Dove soon. I hope she won't, but I'm fairly certain she will," Sunset said quickly.

Sweet Pea watched Midnight stiffen and felt the pang of panic herself.

"She is going to take Dove?" Midnight cried. "Why would she do that? She promised I could keep her. I was going to raise Dove to do just what Peridot wanted. There's no need for her to take her away. She can't..I can't let her take my little filly."

"It isn't about how Dove will be raised. It's because the necromancer is holding the survival of Ocid ransom and the price is your filly. The Mare says she'll not bring her forces down to crush Ocid if we give her Dove by tomorrow morning," Sunset answered back quickly.

"That demon wants Dove?" Midnight said in a fearful voice. The thestral mother gripped Dove tightly to herself, and wrapped her wings around the filly as well. Sweet Pea felt her heart rip open, they couldn't do this to Midnight, Midnight had been promised her foal. Why would they betray that promise now?

"How do you know this? Are you going to steal my friend's filly away from her?" Sweet Pea demanded. Her best friend was terrified and who could blame her? They were threatening to take her filly away, the filly they promised she could keep. It made Sweet Pea burn and grit her teeth in a snarl at them doing this; not only for her friend and her friend's filly, but for what would come next. Would they start just giving any filly born over to the necromancer to placate her? Would they start taking other fillies from mothers? How dare they even consider doing such a thing.

"The Mare of Shadows can apparently enter into dreams, something that until today I did not know she could do," Sunset replied. "She tried to pressure me into giving Dove over to her, and I expect she is going to attempt Peridot next. I'll not do any such thing. I refuse to start sacrificing lives to the Elder Gods to keep their minions at bay. We've enough death as it is, and I'll not stand starting to do that. Peridot on the other hoof almost certainly will if she thinks it'll help Ocid survive. I expect that the monster will be visiting Peridot's dreams even now."

"So we're all going to die if she doesn't get Dove?" Midnight sobbed. It was clearly an impossible choice to have to make.

"I don't think it'll come to that," Sunset answered in a hurried tone. She seemed frustrated that she was having to explain everything instead of them hurrying. "The necromancer seems to have no real desire to actually destroy Ocid, yet anyway. I think that if Dove is no longer in Ocid she'll pursue us instead of attacking. We have to get out of Ocid."

"I know a place that can sustain a few ponies for a while in safety," Water Shadow spoke up. "It was never a place that would have worked for a large population, or one that'll stay safe indefinitely, but it's somewhere to go for now that The Mare of Shadows can't reach us. There we can have effectively years to figure out what to do next. We can't delay though. We need to move now before Peridot can try to stop us."

"Okay" Midnight said with a quivering voice.

"I'm coming too," Sweet Pea announced as she came to the decision. If she left Ocid not only would she stay by her friend's side, she would guarantee that she got to keep this foal.

"You don't need to do that, you're likely safe," Water Shadow replied sternly. "This trip is dangerous and we'll be traveling well outside Ocid's borders to reach it. There's a chance we won't make it. There's no need to put yourself in danger."

"I will not abandon my friend and I'll not have another foal taken from me," Sweet Pea snapped back at the alicorn. She wasn't giving up this opportunity for herself, and she wasn't leaving her friend in her hour of need. They would have to forcibly stop her from coming along.

"Fine, you're going too. We don't have any more time to argue. We need to move now," Sunset growled as she turned back towards the door.

Sweet Pea turned briefly to her sobbing friend before they followed. She wasn't going to see Midnight lose Dove, and she wasn't going to lose another foal to a stranger. They would escape this place and her current unborn foal would be born free from this place.

Peridot was outside of the Dome on the one of the farms and she didn't recall how she had gotten there. For some reason this fact didn't bother her much as she looked around at the ponies laboring in the fields. The sun was shining brightly, there was some clouds in the sky that looked like they might rain soon when they came more fully in. The air was clean and smelled of tilled soil. This was relaxing and peaceful.

She walked through fields filled with corn, tomatoes, carrots, lettuce, and various small berries. Here and there different types of flower beds were planted that provided various edible blooms for her little ponies to eat. The farmers in the fields laughed and talked together happily as they worked the tending the fields and harvested the bounty of their hard work. A few even sang songs as they worked that reminded Peridot of happier days long ago.

Why was she thinking the happy days were long ago? Wasn't this clearly a happy day? She could not recall why she should not think the present should be happy. Of course today was a happy day. She could clearly see her various descendants were happy.

She kept walking the fields. She came upon an apple orchard and with her magic she grabbed an apple down from one of the trees. Such a good looking bright red apple, large and healthy; when was the last time she had eaten such a thing? There were plenty of them here, so why didn't she eat from them more often? She couldn't recall why, it seemed silly she shouldn't eat such fruit. What had she been eating instead all this time? She couldn't recall for some reason.

She continued to eat the delicious fruit and enjoy the day. There were thestrals hovering among the trees picking the fruits, unicorns picking the fruits as well with their magic, and crystal ponies taking baskets of the fruits away to where they could be enjoyed by all. All that was missing were earth ponies bucking the trees, and pegasi bringing small rain clouds to water them. Where were the earth ponies and pegasi? Farming just didn't produce these kinds of results without them. It seemed again that she should know, but it didn't seem very important at that moment. Her ponies were clearly doing well.

Peridot continued walking among the farms and orchards. There weren't just stallions and mares here, there were fillies and colts. They played simple games that foals had played since seemingly the beginning of time. Hide and seek, kicking balls about, tag, racing one another, and getting into general mischief. These were her grandfoals, even the adults were her grandfoals. They were all her family and they were prospering, happy, and safe.

But were they safe? Something tugged at her mind, something important. She paused in her walk and tried to remember. She had to remember what it was that she was forgetting. There was some kind of threat to them all and she couldn't protect them if she couldn't remember.

Peridot looked off in the distance and saw the ends of the fields and orchards. The land went desolate and dry at a clear dividing line. There was something out that way, something that could hurt her ponies. She still couldn't bring to mind what it was though.

She walked towards the desolation with a sinking sense of dread. This place was wrong. She stepped out into arid land beyond and could feel the difference in the soil immediately. This soil wasn't just dry, it was dead, nothing could possibly grow or prosper here. That wasn't the source of the dread though, it was something else. She almost had it, she just had to focus.

Staring down at the ground she could feel the sense of dread intensify further. There were strange rocks embedded in the ground here that didn't look right. She paused at the ground a bit. Were those bones? Why were there bones here? The memory of what was wrong was almost there, and she continued to stare. Then her eyes widened as a single word entered into her mind, undead.

She gasped as she remembered. There was a giant undead army massing to attack Ocid and it would surely destroy every farm and breach the Dome and get inside. Her ponies were in eminent danger. She had to get all these ponies into the Dome now. She had to marshal every single last guard she could and get all her battleships into the air now. The undead army would be here soon. There was no hope they could prevail, but she had to try.

Peridot ran back into the fields and orchards screaming for every pony to run back to the safety of the Dome. Maybe the Dome would somehow hold. Maybe she could get the guard to slay the undead as they made breaches inn the Dome. Re-killing the things as they tried to funnel in. They would come in bottle-necked through the breaches, perhaps that could help her ponies win the day. There had to be something that could be done to win against this.

The ponies in the fields waved happily to her as she urged them to go back to the Dome. What was wrong with them? Didn't they know they were in danger? Why weren't they listening to her? They needed to listen to her or they were doomed.

A great roar went up behind her in the distance. She turned around in terror and saw it, the undead hordes was here and it was coming into the farms. She had to defend these ponies. She had to buy them time to get to the Dome and safety. She raced back to confront the horde herself. She would be quickly overtaken, but every second she bought her ponies could mean life or death to them. She had lived long enough, she was prepared to go down fighting. She was a soldier, this was what her destiny meant.

Her forehooves struck the first undead that made its way into the fields, shattering it. She was a titan of strength, she needed no weapons, she was a weapon. She quickly smashed another undead to bits, and then another, and another still. They would come on her with such numbers soon that she wouldn't be able to fend them off, but for now she would break every one of the necromancer's toys she could.

She took a quick moment to glance around as she pounded one abomination after another into shattered husks and was horrified by what she saw. Her ponies weren't running, they weren't fighting either. They were being attacked and ripped apart by the horde and the ones that were not yet were just going on as they had been as if the attack was not happening. What was wrong with them? Why wouldn't they save themselves? She could see in little patches of ground between the swarming undead the mangled bodies of the farmers and the foals, all sitting in an ever growing lake of blood.

She couldn't save these ponies. She had failed to make them listen to her and flee the danger. She had to make it to the Dome and help defend it. Her armies must be massed now at its walls and defending it. She had to save what she could.

With tears in her eyes she turned around and started running for the Dome wall, destroying undead as she ran. She kept lashing about blindly as she ran, knowing whatever way she struck she would connect her blows against multiple undead. The swarm was everywhere and she was ramming her way through a solid wall of the creatures. Nothing would keep her from reaching the Dome and helping defend there. They could hold it if she got there.

She suddenly slipped and fell in the blood of the fields, landing with her muzzle touching the nearly severed head of a young crystal pony mare. The eyes were missing, and the rest of the body was missing chunks large chunks of flesh. It already hot the smell of rot. On the dead pony's face she could see that the pony was still smiling in death. Peridot jerked away in terror and then vomited in disgust.

Then to her shock and dismay the head turned towards her and looked at her with its empty sockets.

"Why did you let this happen, Ponymother? Didn't you love us? Why didn't you protect us?" The pony questioned her accusingly.

Peridot didn't answer the phantom. She got back to her hooves and began running again. She failed to save that pony, she would not fail to save the others.

The sounds of explosions now caught her ears. She let herself hope a little bit. Those were the sounds of heavy artillery from the Dome, as well the battleships heavy cannons. They were fighting the horde. Which meant that the Dome was not yet breached.

She looked up to try to spot the battleships. Then her heart sank yet again. The ships were firing down but they were being swarmed by flying undead. She could already see two of the ships slowly falling from the sky in what would result fiery crashes. The rest would surely follow soon. There were just too many of the undead in the air attacking them. There were so many undead in the air they blocked out the sun.

When she came in sight of the Dome she almost collapsed from the shock of the sight. The undead swarmed the Dome like ants, they were climbing up the top of one another, making a bridge of their bodies to reach the heavy artillery and destroy it. There were so many pressed up against the Dome, and she could hear some of the metal groaning under the increased weight of millions of bodies pressed upon it in concentrated areas.

The sound of the canons and the artillery went silent as the last of the defenses outside the Dome were overtaken. The sound of the the groaning metal increased as more and more undead piled on it. She could hear them pounding on it and scratching at it. It sounded like millions of sharp objects being dragged across a chalkboard. This sound combined with the groaning of the metal as it took on more weight created a orchestra of painful sounds to her ears.

The Dome began to buckle in places. She could see where the bodies of the undead hordes began to sag lower as the Dome beneath them caved in. It was not just in one place, it was in dozens of not hundreds of places, and this was just what was in her field of vision. The Dome stretched over the entire nation and this same scene was likely being played out on all other sides of it.

She heard the ripping of metal as first one then another spot gave way completely. The Dome was breached, and breached in more places than there was any hope of bottle-necking the undead hordes coming through into the urban areas within. Ocid was falling, and she was powerless to stop it. She had to get inside through one of those breaches and try to get any pony out she could. Perhaps she could get them elsewhere and they could begin again. She could fight through the horde, she could defend just a few where she had failed at defending many.

Making her way through the nearest breach to her, again ramming and smashing undead as she went, she entered into the city areas. There was screaming and wailing as the undead were slaying her ponies. She had to defend at least some of them. She fought her way towards the closest Foal Services center. The foals were defenseless, they needed to be defended.

When she reached the Foal Services center it looked untouched, but the Undead were making their way towards it. She couldn't let them get inside the building. She battled her way towards the door and stood to guard it. The undead pressed against her, trying to bite at her. They were strong but she had the strength to fight alicorns. They were insects to her that needed to be swatted. There was just so many. You could easily crush a single ant, but once the entire ant hill was attacking you were in trouble. This was like a thousand ant hills attacking at once.

She could still hear the screaming around her. Ponies were dying everywhere. She had to hold this position though, she had to defend the foals. It wasn't like any of her forces would listen to her if she tried to rally them. They had no love for her at the best of times, and now the chain of command was in chaos anyway. There was just frightened ponies struggling to survive and she couldn't save them. She had to try to save at least these few foals.

She closed her eyes and kept swinging her powerful forelegs blindly. She didn't need to see what she was doing, the swarm was too thick. All that mattered was that she kept defending with all her might, and that they didn't make it through this door. She was strong, she could hold this one point at least.

The sounds of violence came to a deafening quiet. She opened her eyes and looked about. For as far as her eyes could see were the broken bodies of undead and ponies. Since the undead were all once ponies it would be best just to say the bodies were of all ponies. The stench of decay and rot was suffocating. Where were the living ponies? Where were the rest of the undead?

She turned and went into the Foal Services center that she had been defending. The building was quiet, just like the rest of Ocid. She walked the halls but there was no one there at all it seemed. Her ears were lowered as she walked and her posture continued to slump. Had she been defending an abandoned building?

She found the door for the central cafeteria for the foals and opened it. When she looked inside she dropped to her knees. Inside were the bodies of all the foals, piled everywhere around the room. There was blood everywhere. The entire place stank of already rotting flesh.

The Ponymother buried her face in her forelegs and broke down into uncontrollable sobs. She had failed them, all of them, all the ponies in Ocid were dead. The only pony left was her, and she wished she were dead too.

The sound of hoofsteps broke her from her sobbing and she looked up in a hurry, eager to see another living pony. What greeted her was no living pony, nor any undead. Standing over her was the specter of Flurry Heart looking down on her in judgement.

"I gave you all my power so you could defend the ponies of this land. It seems I made a grave error in who I should have trusted," Flurry Heart said to her as she glared down.

"It was to be expected," came another voice. Peridot jerked her head around to see the source and was confronted by the specter of Icy Moon. "She always fails at protecting other ponies."

"She can't even protect other ponies from themselves," came another voice, which she turned to see came from the shade of her long dead sister Biblo. She flinched back at the sight of this shade. "Look at how much she failed that with me. It's no surprise she couldn't help these ponies defend themselves."

"She can't even fix any of the mistakes she knew she made," came yet another voice, this time from Pearlwort. "She had these ponies killing one another long before the undead came, just like she had me kill my own wife."

"We were fools to let her be in charge," came the voice of Sunset Shimmer. Peridot couldn't help but agree right now. "Ocid would have been better with me leading it, rather than this incompetent thing. Perhaps I was a bigger fool thinking that she could do it and sitting aside."

"Have there ever been more wretched parents than we," came the voice of her mother. "One daughter destroys the Great Tree, but the other lets Ponykind die."

"I served the Elder Gods but I never betrayed ponies at the level you have," came Pinkie Pie's voice. "They're all dead because of you!"

She crawled backwards away from the ghosts in terror, blubbering in sorrow as she went. They were all correct, her entire life was one never ending stream of mistakes.

"Please, I did everything I could. I didn't want this. I tried my best to prevent this," Peridot cried as she cowered. Why couldn't the dead leave her alone?

"Clearly your best isn't worth much now is it?" Twilight Sparkle's ghost declared.

"I know," Peridot answered back. She closed her eyes shut and buried them in her forelegs. "Please just end me. Let me join my descendants."

"I think perhaps you've had enough for the moment," came a new unfamiliar voice. "Things don't have to end like this, it can still be fixed."

Peridot looked up at the source of this new voice and gasped. All the ghosts were gone. Instead, now standing among the bodies of the dead foals, was a creature that looked like a pony, but the features were all off. She had her black fur, and rising from her body like wings were plumes of black smoke and fire. Her eyes were two pits of fire as well. Peridot knew this pony, this was the necromancer herself, the Mare of Shadows.

"Are you here to finish me off now?" Peridot said in a quiet voice, ready for the end. "Go ahead, I've nothing left to live for now."

"Oh no, I've no such intention right now," the Mare laughed.

"Then you're going to try to get me to put one of those belled collars around my neck. Better to just kill me, I won't give up my soul. It's the only thing I have left," Peridot said.

"I'm glad to hear that. It's such a tragedy when a creature agrees to give up its soul. The Elder Gods would make you into a monster. Take that advice from an expert who knows what she is talking about, it isn't a life you want. I've enough monsters to eventually kill anyway, before I get my final reward from my masters," the Mare said with a smile, though there was an odd tone to her voice as she spoke. It could almost be called sad.

"So what do you want from me?" Peridot demanded.

"I want to give you a way out of this happening right now and have it happen far in the future instead. This is just what will happen if I cannot get what I need from you, not what has happened. You still have time to make this right," the necromancer said in an almost sympathetic tone.

"I find that hard to believe. You seem very intent on killing us all, just like you killed every other pony till now," she replied back.

"Make no mistake, I'll eventually kill you all. You cannot stop that, it's an inevitability. I myself only have the choice of when and how, but my contract is very clear you must all die. You must see that it's inevitable now, but there is no reason that day can't come in the far future. I'm patient with my task and can wait. You could buy time for Ocid now; centuries, perhaps millennia. With all of your little ponies living happily under the sun, unmolested by my hordes. The bill will eventually come due and you will all have to perish, but why not buy some more time? I'll need to be compensated for letting you survive for the time being, I have my own needs after all, but I can be very reasonable in my demands. What will it be? Will you have this all come tomorrow or will your little ponies get many long years yet to live in contentment?"

Peridot stared down at the corpses of the foals scattered across the room for a long moment and then turned to meet the demon in the eye. She had made the only decision she could afford to make. Ocid must survive as long as it could.

"What do you want me to do?"

Chapter 4: Escape from Ocid

Midnight couldn't believe it. The Ponymother was likely intending on giving Dove over to the necromancer. The thought of such a thing made primal instincts, long dormant, rise up in her. She would not let them take her filly. If any pony tried she would find a way to stop them. Sunset said she was going to get Dove to safety. Midnight had to trust that there was somewhere they could go.

Her wing was wrapped protectively around her filly, who was sleeping in her saddle bag. Midnight's fur was fluffing due to her mood. She found that she kept running her tongue across her fangs as if to test the sharpness of them. She would sink them into any pony that tried to lay a hoof on Dove.

Their party was moving quickly through the streets. Water Shadow said there was a long unused passageway that traveled underground, down in the mines below the city. The passageway out was actually well away from the city, but the alicorns said that once they were far enough down the passage the teleport block around the city would be cleared, and then they could teleport every pony far away.

Midnight was a little confused about how they could teleport all the way to their final destination once the teleport block was cleared, or at least most of the way. She knew they could have done that over a thousand years ago, when Harmony still stood, but they had nowhere near that kind of power now. Water Shadow had given some brief explanation, but it went over Midnight's head. The alicorn likely had even been very clear, but Midnight was having trouble focusing on anything but guarding Dove.

"Once we're at the mines I'm going to take all your suits off," Sunset told them, getting a collective gasp from all the non-alicorns in response. "I can override them with a few quick commands and they'll fall right off. I'd do it before then, but all of you running around naked would attract even more attention if Peridot hasn't started hunting you yet. They'll have to remain in place until we're sure she is hunting us, but we can't have her being able to track your suits' signals beyond Ocid."

"You can take them off?" Sweet Pea asked with amazement. "I didn't think anything could take them off."

"That would make little sense. The suits are reused after their previous owners are done with them. We don't put them into the Bakery, it would be a waste of hardware," Sunset replied back as we moved, looking annoyed at the unicorn's ignorance.

"But putting ponies in the Bakery isn't a waste," Cotton Tail muttered, earning a smack of a hoof from his mother.

"I'm making no effort to defend the system here. I personally am sickened by it, that isn't our concern at the moment though," Sunset said to the stallion in a patient tone.

Midnight wasn't concerned about the system at all at the moment. If the suits tracked them, and she needed to avoid being tracked, then having them come off was of concern for that and that alone. What mattered right now was keeping Dove with her and safe, not the ills of Ocid's society. It might be something she would have had stronger feelings about normally, but right now her feelings were focused on a much more singular goal.

"It seems strange to me that it's important for the sake of one filly and not the rest of Ocid," Cotton Tail snapped back at Sunset, before turning to his mother. "Mom, you should be more concerned about it. You're getting close to going to the Bakery yourself. Why shouldn't I think it's important when my mother is in danger of going to the Bakery."

"Hush, Cotton, we have discussed this. That isn't important right now," Night Mist scolded her son.

"Will you all be quiet, we need to not draw any attention to ourselves," Water Shadow snapped at them all, as she made shushing motions.

"Says an alicorn travelling with us," Moon Fury quipped. He had a point. It was kind of hard to not draw attention to ourselves in the company of alicorns. Water Shadow gave him a level look, but ignored the comment.

We did grow silent after that. Midnight silently hoped that the fact most citizens of Ocid preceded just to keep their heads out of others concerns would keep them from gawking too much at the odd collection of ponies traveling together through the streets.

A news display flickered away from an advertisement for wine to a news broadcast. The familiar crystal mare appeared on the screen.

"This is a special alert to all guard units currently operating in Night's Heart. By order of the Ponymother, all guards not stationed at the Bakery are to cease all current activities. Pegasus filly zero-zero-zero-zero-zero-zero-zero-zero-zero-one, designated Dove, has become the only current target for apprehension. The filly is believed to be in the care of thestral mare seven-eight-four-nine-five-two-seven-one-nine-zero, designated Midnight Glow. The tracking information for this mare is currently being sent out to all of your suits. The filly must be captured alive, and brought to the Ponymother immediately. Use of deadly force to quell any and all resistance to the filly's capture has been authorized. The survival of Ocid depends on the prompt completion of these orders. All other citizens are hereby given temporary leave of their shifts and ordered back home immediately. In one hour the only ponies authorized to be on the streets shall be the guard. Ponies in violation of the curfew will have their number noted by the computer and face punishment if in deliberate violation. This curfew will persist until specific order is given by the Ponymother, and will have its ending announced by the computer. The Ponymother thanks you all for your cooperation. Ocid survives."

"Bloody pony feathers," Sunset swore, and smashed a hoof into the ground, creating a small crater. "She is moving faster than I feared she would. She must have already searched your home and the brothel, and found my quarters empty. All of you hold still for a moment , we're taking the suits off now. We can't have them able to track us any further.

"Command override code solar-solar-lunar-one-nine-strength-empathy-healing-empathy-six-honesty-seven variation four-two-one-five," Sunset quickly said the seemingly nonsense command without taking so much as a breath.

"Suit override code accepted. Ocid survives,"Midnight heard the computer in her suit say, echoed by the others in a strange computerized chorus. Then she felt the suit suddenly go loose, and the seams and straps release. It felt strange not having it tight against her body, like a large part of her flesh had just sloughed off.Midnight was aware of sensations on her body that had been muted by the suit for years now, and was honestly a little creeped out by them.

Sunset and Water Shadow quickly stripped the suits off each of the thestrals and the unicorn. Midnight gave her own flank a quick glance after the suit was completely off and her eyes widened. Now sitting on her flank were five silvery hearts, joined in an silver ethereal chain. It was her cutie mark, and she had no clue what it meant. That symbol was anything but obvious in its meaning and no hint of realization came to her as she looked at the mark. It was nice to know she had some sort of purpose or talent at least.

"Well, this is appropriate," Sweet Pea said beside her. The unicorn was looking at her own flank. On her light green fur now sat a foal's bottle surrounded at four corners by four small pink hearts. What Sweet Pea had for a purpose in life was clear, care for foals. She may have been forced into her job like every other pony, but in this case it was the most appropriate job for her. Midnight felt slightly jealous that her friend's mark was so clear while her own was so obscure.

Midnight looked around quickly at her compatriots' cutie marks, unable to hold back curiosity, despite the situation. On Cotton Tail's flank was a golden two-sided balance scale, perhaps something involving fairness or justice perhaps? Night Mist had a rainbow-striped lightning bolt that was the ancient symbol of loyalty placed on the background of a golden sun that matched their shared mistress's mark, clearly loyalty to Sunset was what Night Mist was all about. Moon Fury's was a strange black star made up of crooked arrows facing out in eight different directions, she had as much clue about that one as she did her own.

"We can gawk at cutie marks later," Sunset said sternly. She gathered up the discarded suits in her magic and ignited them. "We keep moving now. They're already going to be coming here since that is the last signal's location."

There was no more moving quietly through the streets at this point. All the ponies were now moving at a full run with Water Shadow taking the lead for direction. On and off she would pull them to a halt in between buildings and put up some sort of shield around them with her magic. Moments after doing this each time a vehicle would pass by them, seeming not to notice them. They would then take off again once the patrol was out of sight.

Midnight knew that they were still being spotted by cameras throughout the city. The only reason they didn't have the guards on them already was the sheer amount of camera images that had to be monitored. At some point whoever was scanning the camera feeds would spot them and direct the guards to them. It was just a matter of time.

They paused again, and ducked out of sight, as another guard transport started passing by them. All of the them held their breath as the transport was passing.

"Waada woo!" Dove exclaimed loudly as she woke up. Midnight hurriedly wrapped a wing over her infant to try to quiet her, but it was too late. The transport stopped right where it was at and opened up its doors. Guards began piling out and rushing towards them quickly.

The two alicorns launched into action, throwing up shields to deflect the blasts from the guards' energy guns, and slinging spells of towards the guards. Within seconds all the guards were completely collapsed on the ground. Midnight thought at first that they might be dead, but then she noticed the signs of breathing indicating that the alicorns had simply put them to sleep.

"That almost certainly gave away our exact position," Water Shadow said. She then gathered up several of the guards' weapons and floated them over to the four thestrals and the unicorn. "Take these, and be ready to use them if need be. Sunset and I can deal with a large number of guards ourselves, but it's better if you all are capable of putting up some sort of fight."

"I have no idea how to use one of these. We aren't trained soldiers," Sweet Pea whined as she took the proffered weapon in her magic.

"Strap it on one of your forelegs so that it will aim away from you when you raise it. There's a bite clip on it that will extend out towards you when you point it directly at a target. Bite down on clip and it'll fire, or in your case use your magic to trigger the clip for the same effect. We never did come up with a gun design that worked both safely, and without hassle, for non-unicorns," Sunset quickly explained. "Hurry up and get equipped, we aren't doing any more hiding."

Midnight quickly armed herself. In order to test how the gun's firing mechanism worked she raised the hoof it was strapped on and then pointed it down the road. A long extension quickly came out towards her face that had an odd handled bar, which she assumed to be a bite clip. It would be easy enough to bite down on, but she would have to be aiming at something not moving to the sides, while being stationary herself, to actually use the thing. Trying to fight with it against some pony similarly equipped, who was experienced in its use, would leave her helplessly exposed to their fire. She knew the guards were going to be practiced enough to not have those kinds of restrictions. Hopefully she wouldn't be forced to have to try using it. She lowered her hoof and the bar quickly detracted back to the weapon.

She took a glance down at the sleeping guards and noticed one of them wearing the extending blade weapon she had seen used before. She quickly unwrapped that from the guard and strapped it on her other foreleg. She then imitated the positioning of her foreleg that she had seen guards use before and the blade extended quickly out. Putting her foreleg back down caused it to quickly retract back into the apparatus before her hoof touched the ground. She was in severe danger if she was close enough to use this, but she felt she could more effectively use it if forced to. Whatever it took to protect Dove.

"Now that every pony is ready let's get moving again," Water Shadow said as she took off down the street.

The Mare of Shadows lay sprawled out on top of the stone casket in the center of the room. There were ponies' bodies thrown everywhere about the room and a few diamond dog ones as well. There wasn't a drop of blood to be seen though, every last one of those corpses had been drained of everything, and the power of their blood put into her spells. It had been a lot of bliss given up to do what she needed to do and that left her feeling rather unenergetic. It would take her weeks on her own to get back to her regular energy level, even if her power level was perfectly fine.

She kept her head planted on the grey stone as she watched her work finish itself. The three alicorn bodies were no longer just bodies, but free thinking creatures of her own making. They were still pulling their awareness together at the moment, it would take a few minutes, but they would be able to function independently of her. She would be sending them out as hunters to track down Sunset Shimmer and the Pegasus filly. Each of her creations would be able to overpower an alicorn on their own once they found her. She could go out hunting herself, but this covered more ground, more quickly. Once they located her prey she could get to the location quickly if they hadn't subdued the alicorn yet.

And she did want the alicorn brought to her alive. There was a lot of power to be gained by severing her life herself. Plus she had an old grudge against Sunset Shimmer that she needed to settle that she intended to make the alicorn suffer long and hard for. Sunset would take a long time dying, she would make sure of it. The alicorn's suffering would also go a long way to helping her recover her bliss quickly. The fact she had to deal with this filly was a small blessing in that it would flush the alicorn out of Ocid.

The Mare considered why her masters were so concerned about a lone pegasus filly. The fact that it was the seeming rebirth of the tribe wasn't really much of a concern. One pony was much like the rest, even if they had some small magical and physical differences between their tribes. If they had earth pony and pegasus births in great numbers all of the sudden it wouldn't really matter. Pegasi didn't have any particularly concerning abilities, weather manipulation, cloud walking, naturally better at flying than the thestrals, but nothing to really care about. One pegasus wasn't going to have much impact on weather, and the other abilities were of no consequence. It was a puzzle, and she didn't like leaving puzzles unsolved. The filly would need to be brought to her alive as well so she could gauge it's magic. Perhaps it had some extraordinary ability granted from its cutie mark, as Grogar seemed concerned with that detail. There were ponies from time to time that had such magic. If it had some great ability she would find a way to harness it before finishing it off. No need to give up something that could be of advantage to her when she went to deal with the other acolytes.

Her creations were stirring in ways that let her know that they were aware now. It was time to give them their orders and get them on their tasks.

Night Mist had decided that there are some things a mare shouldn't be doing for the first time in her sixties, and getting into a gun fight was one of those things.

They were deep in the lower levels of the mining facility, and they had heavy gunfire coming down on them from multiple directions. The Ponymother had changed all the security code clearances, and the door they needed to get through was not opening. The door was extremely thick and resistant to magic to boot, forcing them to have to find a way to get the computer to open it. In the meantime more and more guards were coming into the large room.

Her mistress was working hard to try to hack the door to open, but that left the rest of them trying to keep the guards away. Water Shadow was focused in trying to keep them all shielded from the blasts, so she wasn't doing much fighting herself, and she was primarily focused on keeping Sunset safe while being completely exposed. The rest of the group was spread out. The crates they were using for cover blocked the gunfire, but they were not able to shelter more than one pony at any given location. Night Mist was one of the furthest away from the door, and once it opened she had no idea how she would reach it safely.

She looked around at the others. Moon Fury was cut off equally far away in the other direction from the door, but he seemed to be much more proficient with using the gun than her. He was clearly no expert, but the guards were having difficulty advancing on his position.

Her son was near her, a mere ten pony lengths away. That distance was all open ground and made it so it might as well have been on the other side of Ocid. He had tried to get over to her a few times, which was foolish. He had always been far too protective of her though.

Sweet Pea was just beyond him, another two or three pony lengths down. Sweet Pea actually seemed to be far more capable of using her pilfered weapon well than the guards firing on them, likely because she could trigger it with magic. The unicorn's snipperlike shots were the primary thing keeping the guards at bay right now. When Sweet Pea ran out of shot the rest of them were going to be in even more trouble.

Midnight Glow was the closest to the door. She only took an occasional shot from time to time, which more often than not fired off towards the ceiling or floor. The young mother was far more concerned with keeping her foal shielded behind the crates. The young filly, shockingly, was giggling through all of this loudly, blissfully unaware that she was in mortal danger, but very much aware of the pretty light show the gun fire was causing.

Night Mist tried sticking her hoof out again to try to take a few more blind shots in the guards' direction. Immediately when she stuck the hoof out the area around her was bombarded by the guards' fire. She quickly withdrew it back and sat shaking in her spot. She wasn't cut out for this kind of thing. She was very convinced she was going to die in this room. Hopefully the others would get away safely, but there was no way she was going to be able to transverse the area between her and the door, even if they got it open.

She had no real regrets about her decision to help her alicorn try to escape the city. Chances were that they would put her in the Bakery anyway if she had stayed behind. She was an acolyte, if she had no alicorn she had no job, no purpose. She had lived a good comfortable life, gotten to see her son grow into a strong stallion, and served her alicorn well for over forty-five years. Many ponies didn't even live as long as she had served in her position. She was ready for to meet her end here if it came to it.

"Sunset you can't get away," the voice of the Ponymother came across the room, announcing she had arrived.

Sunset Shimmer didn't give the Ponymother any sort of response, and kept trying to hack the door. Night Mist didn't know if there was any actual progress being made on it, but if any pony could do it then that would be Sunset Shimmer. The alicorn had all but built the computer system here by herself. Night Mist was sure the alicorn would eventually get through. Whether the rest of them were still alive by that point was still yet to be seen though.

Giving a silent curse to herself that she was even doing such a thing, Night Mist tried taking another try at shooting in the direction that the Ponymother's voice had come from. She took a deep breath, raised her forehoof to get the bite grip to extend again, and put her mouth lightly over the grip to be ready. She personally hated the Ponymother, but the idea that she was trying to shoot at the Ponymother was making her even more shaky. What they were doing was treason, but taking a direct shot at the Ponymother was a whole other level of treason. The Ponymother was the only target she had any idea of where to shoot at though, based on the direction of the voice.

Before she could position herself there was a loud hiss and the sound of a mechanism grinding to life. Her mistress had managed to successfully hack the door, and it was now opening.

"Hurry! It'll only be open for less than a minute and then will close again with a random lock code in order to delay them," Sunset shouted to them. The alicorn turned and added additional shielding that now enveloped all the party except for Night Mist and Moon Fury.

Night Mist was going to have to transverse a large open area to get to the shielding and then through the door, all in a short amount of time. Perhaps if she fired off a few shots before she bolted she could buy herself those precious few seconds that she needed. That might make the guards firing in her direction have to duck and cover long enough for her to make the run. It didn't seem likely, but it was worth attempting.

She positioned the weapon and took a quick breath, then she turned and started firing blindly in Peridot's general direction. After getting three quick shots off she lowered her hoof quickly, and tried to start running.

Before she could take even a step excruciating pain shot through her leg that the gun was strapped on. She dropped down to the ground, unable to function through the searing pain. She barely was able to open her eyes enough to look at her hoof, and she saw it was a bloody mess. She had been shot straight through where the weapon had been strapped. The weapon was no longer attached, and she couldn't focus enough to look for it. She didn't think this was a fatal wound, but it was extremely painful. She wasn't going to be able to run, if she could even bring herself to stand on three legs. She was either going to be executed here, or captured and taken to the Bakery.

"Mom! Hold still, I'm going to come get you," Cotton Tail shouted over to her.

"Don't you dare!" She shouted back, perhaps more harshly than she intended. The pain was still so intense it was all she could do though. "You're going to get out of here. Do you hear me? I'm old and this was coming soon anyway. I made my peace with it. I'll not have you sacrificing yourself for me."

Her son was shouting back some answer, but she couldn't make it out. Her vision was fading out as she lost blood, and the world faded to black.

Well, at least this isn't boring.Moon Fury thought to himself. There had been a high chance of death for two of his important playthings up till now. Thankfully those two looked like they were getting out of here safely. Those two being the little pegasus and the other being the unborn foal that unicorn whore was currently carrying in her womb.

Dove was something completely fresh and unique, the side effect of random chance pushed to the extreme by his siring her. It would be a true shame not to see what the pony could eventually do in time. He himself had no clue, it was chaos that spawned her, and there was no telling what form of ordered being it had settled into. She had power, he could feel it, even if the ponies couldn't, but he had no clue what the power actually did. He would be very disappointed if he never found out what he made.

The foal that the unicorn was carrying was of lesser importance, but still something he looked forward to seeing. He had decided to play some more after the interesting results with Dove, and tried something a bit different with that one, and several others that were even now growing in wombs of whores around Ocid. Reflections of old magic, from long dead ponies, were in them rather than pure random chance. Long dead ponies that had once shaped this world. Perhaps nothing would come of that game, but he was curious as to what these ones might do in this world. It wasn't strictly reincarnation, as he lacked access to their actual souls, but he hoped he made close facsimiles. The one this unicorn was carrying was one he had a particular soft spot for, and losing it would have definitely been saddening.

Moon Fury looked at the now closed door. He had originally planned to have gone through it with the rest of the party. There was no real danger to him from these weapons after all. Plans changed when he had come down with a dreadful case of compassion. It was truly infuriating.

Night Mist was passed out in a pool of her own blood across the room from him. Who would have thought so much blood pumped through one of those hooves? He had sent his magic out to make sure she didn't bleed out. Luckily the computer had not picked up on the tiny sliver of magic that had cauterized the wound. He had spent a lot of time with that pony over the years, and he had to admit he would be upset if she died. He really was far too sentimental. It was the fault of hanging around ponies too much over the millennia, but it wasn't an entirely unwanted feeling.

Her idiot son had refused to go through the door when it was open, and was trying to find some way of getting to his mother. If the blasted stallion had just gone through the door, like he should have, this could all be dealt with cleanly and secretly. Now Moon Fury had to go about saving two ponies. If he didn't save Cotton Tail then Night Mist would be all depressed when he did finally save her, and depressed ponies were depressing for him to deal with. Moon Fury resolved to just take a vacation from this world for a few centuries after he was done seeing how his projects turned out. These ponies gave him such a headache sometimes.

There were some positives to this situation though. There was another game he had been considering playing for a long time now, and this might be the perfect time to start it. Moon Fury had some interesting pieces to play with, if he dealt with the current situation with care. Perhaps it was time to really start doing some major chaos.

Night Mist was sadly in plain view of the guards. They weren't firing at her, since she had ceased to be a threat to the guards in her current state; they most likely thought her dead at the moment. The fact she was clearly in view made it impossible for him to extract her without giving away that he could teleport things, even under Ocid's teleportation block. When Peridot finally realized that the thestral mare was alive she would want to interrogate her, there was time to rescue Night Mist later.

Cotton Tail was neatly out of sight for the moment. That meant he could be taken out of here and they wouldn't see the teleport. Moon Fury would save the impetuous stallion for now.

Decision made, Moon Fury made the stallion go elsewhere.

"Warning! Non-pony magic of unknown origin detected!"

Oh, screw you computer. Moon Fury growled to himself. He sent out another wave of magic to block out their memories of Cotton Tail's removal and the alarm going off, then made himself be elsewhere as well.

Peridot didn't know what was going to happen to Ocid now. The alicorns had betrayed them all, and then stolen the nation's one hope of survival away. She had ponies working hastily to try to hack into the door that they had escaped through, but there were a series of other similar doors down that passageway that would prove to be obstacles. She had already sent troops out to where the cave system exited out, but since the alicorns were now where they could teleport they could end up anywhere. She had as virtually no hope of actually catching them by simple pursuit, and this was all just going through the motions.

She looked down at Night Mist. The acolyte was still alive. Somehow the bleeding from her wound had stopped before she could bleed to death. That was a small bit of good news. Hopefully she would give up some information under interrogation. Something to tell her where to look for the filly.

Peridot glanced at the pony's cutie mark and grimaced. It was only a small hope that the mare would give anything useful. That mark made it clear she was loyal to the core for Sunset Shimmer. She had already arrested Water Shadow's other two acolytes and would be interrogating them as well. Hopefully some pony would give up information before she sent them all off to the Bakery.

She had to have something for the Mare of Shadows by tomorrow. There was no producing the filly, but perhaps information would buy them some mercy. There was no way Ocid could withstand the full assault from from the undead army that was waiting to descend. She would leave no stone unturned in her pursuit of something to give to the necromancer to buy her ponies time.

Why had the alicorns done this? This was a betrayal on the level of what Pinkie Pie had done centuries before. One filly's life was not worth the lives of every other pony. They couldn't even form a small colony somewhere, there were no males among them. Even if that unicorn had a colt that was just one male, that wasn't enough to form a stable population, even with the heavy inbreeding that would definitely happen.

Something seemed off in her thinking; like she was forgetting something again, but she couldn't pull up the thought. She shook her head, it was likely just the current stress of the situation messing with her mind.

Peridot quietly raged inside her head despite her calm expression. She would break every bone in these acolytes' bodies and have them drugged so they wouldn't be able to pass out, then when she was satisfied that there was no more information to be gained she would send them through the Bakery alive and awake. They deserved to feel every piece of meat being ripped from their bodies, traitors deserved even worse.

She spit on Night Mist and walked out of the room.

Chapter 5: Sons and Daughters

Midnight looked out on a landscape completely alien to her. To her back were rocky cliffs which made a wall between where they were and whatever was beyond. They were jagged and looked to have sharp edges, perhaps the height of a three story building. She could probably fly over them if she weren't carrying Dove, even with her poor flying ability, but wouldn't risk such a flight while trying to carry her filly. She could make out that they had a red color to them, even in the dark.

The sight in front of her was water, just never ending water out in front of her. She didn't think there was so much water in the whole world. In the low light it looked like some massive constantly shifting black mass. It kept moving and that puzzled her slightly. Why was the water moving? Shouldn't it just be sitting still? She knew from her schooling that it moved all the time, but couldn't recall why. Seeing it do so was unnerving though. It seemed like some great undulating mass ready to swallow her up.

Beneath her hooves the ground was wet, and didn't feel completely solid. It was white, just slightly darker than Dove's fur. When she pushed down with her hooves they sank into it easily, displacing water as the strange wet soil separated in all directions and enveloped her hoof as the hoof went down into it. She pulled the hoof back up, feeling suction trying to hold it down for a brief moment, but it came back out easily. What was the word for this kind of soil? She thought back hard to her schooling and tried to recall. Stand? Stang? The word was something like that, but couldn't remember exactly. It wasn't ever considered important information, just some of the weird general information they taught you when trying to see your aptitudes. She hadn't had much aptitude for understanding things involving soil and geology. Crystal ponies tended to have better understanding of those kinds of things, not thestrals.

Looking up she saw a very different looking sky than what she had seen before. She had seen the sky clear and blue before with her mistress, and she had seen it grey and overcast as well, but she had never seen it like it was now. It was both pitch black and lit up at the same time. It was darker than the water in front of her, but scattered all over that darkness was thousands if tiny sparks of light, glowing dimly in the black. Some were slightly brighter than others, and there seemed to be no pattern in their disbursement in the sky. She knew these were the stars from Sunset. She remembered what she had been told about how far away they were from her. Why could she see them if they were so far away?

Another thing making anxious was that they were clearly well away from Ocid. There was no sign of the Dome in sight. That meant they were likely deep in the Dead Lands, which meant undead could be anywhere and everywhere around them. For the moment there were none in sight, but that could change at any time. She did a quick check to see if her weapons were still there and in good shape.

The first thing she had done on arrival, however, was check on Dove in her saddle bag. The little foal was looking around and giggling and cooing at what she was seeing. Midnight had breathed a sigh of relief that Dove was alright. She had been terrified than one of the guns would have hurt her daughter.

Since there didn't seem to be immediate danger she took a look around at her companions. Sunset was looking at the cliffs, no doubt trying to guess what kind of defense they might provide, and what lay beyond them. Water Shadow was sitting silently, just staring out at the water. There was no sign of Moon Fury and Cotton Tail, she wasn't sure or not if they had even made it through the door by the time it had closed. Water Shadow had pulled them into a teleport the second the doors had sealed again. The entire ordeal back in the mine chamber had been hard for her to follow in her terror.

Sweet Pea was currently in a state of panic, seemingly unsure what was the most terrifying thing around her. She looked frantically between the sky, the water, and the ground beneath her hooves. The unicorn had never been outside, and likely had not been educated at all about what lay beyond the Dome of Ocid. If this was alien to Midnight, this was beyond comprehensible for Sweet Pea.

Midnight walked over to her best friend, and wrapped a wing around her in what she hoped would be a calming gesture.

"It's okay, we are outside, somewhere on the coast. Undead don't come out to the coast much, or in great numbers when they do. We are safe for the second." Midnight hoped her words would calm her friend. The unicorn still seemed to be extremely scared, but she stopped looking around frantically in favor of facing Midnight.

"I'll try..I just need a few minutes to adjust." Sweet Pea glanced at the weapon still strapped to her foreleg, and shivered. "Midnight, do you think I killed any pony back there?"

It had been hard to tell much of anything in detail back in the large chamber. Midnight had been focused on just keeping Dove safe and out of the gunfire, she had been unable to focus on anything else. She did recall a heavy iron scent that had not been there when they first entered the room. Maybe it was a smell that had been produced by the gunfire, but her gut told her that it had been the scent of blood, and there had been a lot of it.

"I don't know," she answered. "Don't think too much about it. Those ponies were trying to kill us. You did what you had to in order to prevent that. I think they would have succeeded if you had not been as good a shot as you turned out to be. We owe you our lives. Just remember your unborn foal would be dead now if you hadn't done what you did."

"It should make me feel better, but I can't help feeling like I did something evil," Sweet Pea said quietly. "I don't want to be a murderer."

"It isn't murder to defend yourself and your loved ones in a situation like that," Midnight insisted. She wished she had been able to be as much help as Sweet Pea had been in the chamber. Midnight had felt completely useless through the entire ordeal.

"I can agree with you in my head, but my heart isn't so easy to convince. I just hope I never have to do something like that ever again," Sweet Pea replied in the same quiet voice.

Sweet Pea's sad reflection on her actions seemed to at least caused her to stop panicking about her surroundings, Midnight was glad of that at least, even if her friend was still very upset. Hopefully she would not have it weigh on her too long. Midnight meant what she said. She didn't care about whether Sweet Pea had killed any of those guards or not; what was important was that Sweet Pea had kept them alive.

"Are we where I think we are, Shadow?" She heard Sunset ask the other alicorn.

"Yes," Water Shadow replied, still staring out at the water. "Where else would my safe house be at?"

"Where are we, Mistress?" Midnight asked Sunset.

"You no longer wear an acolyte suit, so I think we can dispense with the titles. We are all refugees now," Sunset replied with a wry smile. "But to answer your question we are near the site where Water Shadow lived when she was about your age. I spent many years here trying to help her with a difficult period of her life. We are on the far western coast of the continent now. The undead horde in full is between us and Ocid. I am actually shocked that she was able to teleport us this far."

"I have had a teleport anchor spot here for years. I can teleport here from anywhere I capable of teleportation at all, even if we lack the power we once had when Harmony stood," Water Shadow explained, finally turning away from the water and gazing down shore instead.

"Is it safe here? I don't see anything to protect us here. It feels so..exposed," Sweet Pea spoke up shakily.

"This is only near the place we will be safe. Teleports won't work where we need to be to be safe. The place has strange magic that interferes with teleportation," Water Shadow explained further.

"Where are Moon Fury, Night Mist, and Cotton Tail?" Midnight asked, fearing what the answer would turn out to be, but hoping that some other answer would come. Their current absence spoke volumes, but there was a chance they had just been teleported somewhere else.

"They..didn't make it through the door by the time it closed," Sunset said in a subdued voice. There were tears in her eyes. "I..I think I saw Night Mist get shot. I don't know what happened to the other two."

Midnight wept at this point. Night Mist had been the pony that had trained her in her duties as an acolyte. The older mare had been like a mother at times to her in those first days on the job. Moon Fury was Dove's father, and though he had never really been involved with the filly's life, he still asked about her regularly the last few months. It had made her hope she could form some sort of family, but that wasn't going to happen now. Cotton Tail she never knew well, but he was a familiar face to her from their shared profession.

Water Shadow had her head and ears lowered as she stared down at the wet ground. Midnight knew the other acolytes the blue alicorn had were likely to be arrested and sent to the Bakery as well. They hadn't been friends, but they were close acquaintances to Midnight. The alicorn was losing all her acolytes in one fell swoop today. Being an acolyte was more than just serving an alicorn, it was being a friend and confidant to them. Water Shadow was dealing with three of her best friends dying today. Sunset as well was losing a great number of hers as well. Midnight's heart went out to them in sympathy. The fact that they had lost so much for the sake of Dove made her all the more grateful for their actions.

"We can mourn later," Sunset said as she brought herself to her hooves. "Let's get to this safe house of your's so we can get out of the open. If we keep sitting around here too long some minion of the necromancer will notice us and report our presence to her."

"We can get to the gates of it for now, but we cannot enter it until daylight. If we try to get in before the sun rises we are better off facing the undead horde head-on. There is no surviving it at night," Water Shadow told them, as she rose to her hooves as well.

"You haven't told me much about this place of yours, Shadow. That doesn't sound like a promising place to stay safe," Sunset said evenly.Wait, Sunset didn't actually know where they were going or how it would keep them safe?

"It's complicated," Water Shadow replied back. "You'll understand when you see it."

Midnight wasn't one to question alicorns, but this didn't seem like it was going to be somewhere to keep them safe. If the place was so dangerous at night then what were they supposed to do at night? She wanted her filly to be able to live. If this place only kept them safe part of the time, and was supposedly less safe than fighting the undead horde the rest of the time, that seemed like Dove wasn't destined to make it through the week. Were they trading one certain doom for another? Was it all that hopeless?

Water Shadow began walking away down the shore. The rest of them with little other choice got to their hooves and followed the alicorn to whatever terrible place she was leading them.

She strained her senses trying to feel outside magic, the others likely did the same. The three of them hovered in the air,listening. The had sensed alicorn magic, but it had been in the wrong direction from where they had being sent. Now the waited where they were, waiting to sense any further occurrences.

They had been tasked, in fact created, by the Goddess to track down the alicorn Sunset Shimmer and the pegasus filly that she harbored. Their creator, their Goddess, had given them a direction to search. They had been given power to sense alicorn magic for their hunt, but now faced a conundrum. They had been ordered in one direction by their Goddess, but this magic was not in that direction. This confused her, she needed to obey the Goddess, but she must try to accomplish what the Goddess wanted. Her young mind struggled with the paradox put before her.

They kept waiting, hoping that there would be some further magic to sense. If there was more then they could feel that this was the course their creator would want them to take. No further bursts of magic seemed to be coming though. Her mind was tormented with indecision, she should not have to make such choices, she should simply be able to do as she was commanded and be happy that she did.

She looked to the others..her sisters. Sisters seemed the correct term. Weren't they all female and born together? Weren't they all creations of the Goddess? The Goddess was their mother. Yes, that seemed like the right term for that as well. They were sisters born of the same mother in blood and necromatic magic.

Her sisters looked much as she guessed she looked. They were molten blood and green necromatic magic constantly twisting and turning around the skeletal frame of some long dead alicorns. Their eyes blazed with green light. They looked much the same as one another, and she assumed that she looked the same too as a result. Were they thinking the same things as her? They must be, they felt the same things, and had experienced all the same few things in their very short life so far of a few hours.

If they were to investigate this flash of alicorn magic they would be flying far off course. Their mother had not granted them the knowledge of how to teleport themselves. She had only given them knowledge of spells to slay and subdue. Perhaps it was up to them to figure such things out themselves, or perhaps their mother did not wish for them to have this knowledge. This was another puzzle. There were far too many puzzles in her life so far. Why must life have so many questions? Realizing she had just come to another question she shook her head in frustration. Perhaps it was part of living to come up with questions and find answers to them.

"What do we do sisters?" She asked the other two. It seemed odd that they didn't all ask the question at once. If they were the same shouldn't they all find the need to voice the question at the same time. She also realized this was her first time speaking, the first time any of them had spoken. She was the first word..that had a nice ring to it..she was First Word. She claimed this name for herself.

"The Goddess commands us to go to the south and the east," one of her sisters replied. This they all knew, but this was not a suitable answer though.

"Our mother wishes us to find the alicorn. The magic is to the west," she replied back to her sisters. This was still not an answer to the question, but it felt like it was getting closer to one.

"There are three of us and three directions. Perhaps..our mother..wishes us to go west as well?" Her other sister seemed to be feeling out the term for their creator, thinking about whether it was right. Better, this felt like an answer. First Word felt joy in having found an answer to a question.

"Shall you be the one who goes west then..sister?" the other one said.

Another question? How many questions could be fit into a lifetime?

"I am First Word, sister, and I shall go west. If it displeases our mother then she shall only punish me and not you two," First Word said decisively.

"First Word..I shall go eastward. I shall be called East Ward as a result," the sister, now known as East Ward, told her.

"And I shall go south obedient to our mother's will. I shall be her Obedient Will and will be called that in honor of it," the last of them said.

First Word felt a swell of pride and..love for her sisters. Was love the word? It felt like the right word. They had resolved this problem, and they all knew who they were now. They were bonded in purpose and origin, so they were family, and families loved one another. Surely they would be able to figure out any future questions as well.

Without any further discussion the three sisters flew off in their decided directions. It was time to find the alicorn Sunset Shimmer and the pegasus filly. It was time to please their mother.

Night Mist awoke with a start. Her heart was racing even more than what her fear should have caused. Was she having a heart attack? Something wasn't right about how fast it was beating.

"You woke up quickly. I will have to compliment whoever designed that drug I injected you with, it is good work," the voice of the Ponymother came from nearby.

Night Mist tried to get to her hooves, but pain shot through one of her forelegs when she attempted it, causing her to collapse back down on the ground with a pained gasp.

She looked at her forehoof and remembered that it had been shot. The hoof was was still a bloody mess, no pony had made any attempt to clean it up. She could tell that it was was broken and misshapen despite the coat of blood on it. It didn't even have a flat surface for her to stand upon anymore. Even if she weren't in line to go to the Bakery she would never be able to walk on this leg again.

"You are much more resilient for an old mare than I gave you credit for before. That kind of wound should have had you bleed out and die in a few minutes time, but you seem like you overcame that," the Ponymother chuckled.

"Who are you calling old mare, old mare?" Night Mist snapped back defiantly. In truth she didn't feel even a tenth as cocky as her words came out, but she was going to try to be as resistant to the Ponymother as she could for the sake of her mistress. What did she have to lose at this point for defiance? She was going to die before the day was out anyway.

"Well, a bit of a backbone as well. Hopefully that means your mind is clear enough to be of use to me," the large crystal pony said with a smile.

"I will tell you nothing," Night Mist insisted. She would not betray any information to this bitch. The only thing she had left to lose was her loyalty to her mistress, and Peridot would not take that from her.

"We shall see," Peridot said cooly. "You don't have to actually say anything out loud to tell me what I want to know. I have other ways of getting information out of you. We will try those first, and if they fail we will do this the hard way. I admit, I am actually hoping I have to do things the hard way. Because what all of you have done I have a strong desire to inflict some physical punishment."

"Well, that is to be expected. All you have every been is a brute, great grandmare," Night Mist hissed.

"Shut up," Peridot growled back menacingly. Night Mist seemed to have have struck a nerve with calling her a brute.

"But I don't blame you, really. You would have been an excellent soldier, the best, but you have no ability to lead. Just another brute for the brute squad," Night Mist continued. She didn't know what was driving her to taunt the Ponymother. Perhaps it was the certain knowledge that she was dead anyway, and hope that her taunts would enrage the Ponymother enough that she just killed her now without any hope of getting any information out of her.

"I said shut up!" Peridot shouted, taking a step towards her.

"Really you are as much a victim as the rest of us. You are forced to forever do a job you know you are not suited for or really want. It isn't your fault you are just a big dumb brute only suitable for wrecking havoc. Maybe you could have been a good pony if you just were put out on a battlefield to fight monsters, but as a leader you are the bloodiest damn monster of all," Night Mist pushed on, trying to think of every possible way she could enrage the Ponymother. In truth she had always had fantasies about doing this exact thing. Today was the day she finally got to tell the huge drunk off.

"I told you to shut up, and you will shut up!" Peridot screamed shrilly at her. The massive bulk of muscle charged forward towards her, picked her up, and threw her hard against the wall with lightning speed.

Surprisingly this seemed to cut off the pain, and Night Mist felt some relief. That was until she realized with horror why she wasn't feeling the pain. The Ponymother had broken Night Mist's spine with that lashing out. It wasn't just not feeling any pain throughout her body, she wasn't feeling anything at all beyond her neck. How was she still conscious right now? That should have knocked her out or killed her.

"Perhaps that will teach you a lesson for daring to speak to me like that," Peridot growled.

"Screw you, you're a rotten grandmare," Night Mist managed to get out. It took a lot more effort than it had just a moment ago to speak.

"Well, I suppose I can admire your determination at least," Peridot said with a grunt. The crystal pony walked over to her and placed a hoof down on Night Mist's head. Night Mist closed her eye's waiting for the hoof to press down and crush her skull.

The crush didn't come after a full minute though, and she felt the hoof remove itself from her head. Night Mist re-opened her eyes and looked at the pony that had just a moment before had snapped her back and seemed ready to finish her off. Peridot had her hoof now on Night Mist's back, something she couldn't feel. The crystal pony had her head tilted to the side, as if she were listening carefully to something. What in bloody Tartarus was the Ponymother doing?

After what seemed forever Peridot removed her hoof and shook her head in frustration.

"Blast you, I can't get anything of use out of you. Perhaps I will get some useful information out of Water Shadow's two remaining acolytes. Your fellow acolytes managed to escape me, for now anyway. They will get no gentler treatment when I find them and your alicorn," Peridot said, as she walked back towards the door.

Cotton Tail had gotten away? Night Mist wished she could make some sort of sign that she was happy, but her body was broken. She could barely move her head about. At least her son would get a chance to live.

"I will be sending in some guards to take you off to the Bakery. They will make sure to administer more of that drug to keep you awake before you are sent through the Bakery's mechanisms. I am actually sorry I broke you spine because you won't be able to feel every second of it before you are dead. I will have to be content with knowing you will get to have the sight of your fur being stripped off you, your magic forcefully extracted, and the meat picked off your bones. I hope you carry that horror with you into whatever afterlife there is. Goodbye traitor." And with that Peridot slammed the door to the small cell behind her.

The old thestral just laid there, unable to do anything else. She was likely bleeding internally, perhaps she would die before they had a chance to even put her into the Bakery. Life seemed to keep on giving her more time, and at this point she really didn't want any more time. The death Peridot had planned for her was the stuff of nightmares. Normally a pony was already dead when they put them through the Bakery, mercifully killed just moments before in a quick painless way. This wouldn't be painless. Yes, she couldn't feel anything from the neck down, but her neck and head had flesh and fur to be stripped as well.

At least Cotton Tail had gotten away. It gave her some small peace of mind that he was with her mistress. She said a silent prayer like the ponies of old did for their alicorns that she would keep him safe wherever they had fled to.

The door opened yet again and four guards with a stretcher entered into the room. Peridot wasn't wasting any time it seemed. The time to go to the Bakery was now. She would die with no regrets.

Being back here hurt. This was such an old wound, but being here tore it wide open again for Water Shadow. A pony would think that after over seven thousand years this place wouldn't twist the hook that was in her heart, but it still did.

When she had returned here, soon after the fall of Harmony, and made a sanctuary here, she had been sorely tempted to just stay. She had just wanted to seal herself, and her ship, in the tomb she had carved out. Instead she had left her ship here and commuted herself to being what she was. She was an alicorn and her little ponies needed her. She may have failed them here so long ago, but she would not fail them going forward. It was time to stop pretending she was still an earth pony and do her duty. She wondered now if she had failed in that duty as she thought of the state Ocid was in.

This place was greatly changed since the last time she was here. Just as it had been greatly changed when she returned last time. The area now had a small grove of sickly trees growing about it, barely holding onto life, and small patches of grass hanging on amongst the largely dead soil. It gave her some small feeling of gladness that even though it looked bleak, there was still some life here deep in the Dead Lands, and that life clung near this particular place.

Her companions looked around the area with confusion, not understanding why she had brought them to this place. It definitely didn't look like much. When she looked around the area she could almost imagine the village that had been here so long ago, before the Time of Madness. The village where she had found her cutie mark, married, and had her foal. The place she had ascended to Alicornhood. The village that she had failed to defend from the mad alicorn Flame Star.

"I know that this place is important to you, Shadow, but I don't see anything that looks like any type of shelter here. I hope you didn't come here just to spend your time crying here again until the Mare of Shadows comes and takes you," Sunset said sternly.

"No, there is a sanctuary here. I made it soon after the fall of Harmony. Do you notice something missing from this place, old friend?" She answered her fellow alicorn.

Sunset gave her a considering look, and then looked around the area again. Then turned back to her with comprehension in her eyes.

"Where is the monument stone? You carved that thing and enchanted it so nothing could wear it away or break it," Sunset glanced around again. The two young mares looked around the area with confusion. Not that they would even know what they were looking for.

"It hasn't gone anywhere. It is simply now the first door to the sanctuary. One that we can safely pass through once we uncover it from the sediment. The second door is the one that we must wait to pass through," she explained.

She walked over to a large clearing in the trees and dug at the ground with a hoof for just a minute. Very quickly her hoof came in contact with hard stone and made a grinding sound as she ran it over the stone.

"Will you help me clear away the dirt, Sunset? My magic might be a bit shaky. My emotions are hard to keep in check with this," Water Shadow said quietly. Shaky was putting it lightly. What she was doing now felt like sacrilege.

Sunset nodded and lit her horn up. The dirt on the ground quickly separated and was shoved into piles to the left and right of the large stone slab. Water Shadow and the rest walked up to the stone slab and looked down at it. Even after all these millennia the writing she had carved into it was still clearly visible.

"Who was Sea Star?" Sweet Pea asked. It was an innocent enough question, but it made Water Shadow break out in a sob. The unicorn stepped back looking ashamed of herself for asking the question.

"Sea Star was Water Shadow's daughter. She was the only body Water Shadow was able to find when the village that was once in this location was destroyed in the Time of Madness," Sunset explained to the two young mares. She turned back to Water Shadow. "Shadow, I know being here is very upsetting to you, but time is of the essence that we get out of the open."

Water Shadow took a breath and wiped away her tears with the side of her foreleg, then nodded quietly back to the other alicorn. Sunset was right, she could let herself cry again once they were inside. She had living ponies to concern herself with right now, not ones so long dead that only she remembered them. Her daughter's body wasn't even a body anymore, time has reduced it to dust.

She wrapped her magic around the stone and gently pulled it from its place and to the side. Revealed underneath was a stone ramp descending deep underneath the ground. Down below the entire complex was one massive piece of marble that she had hollowed and out and smoothed barleycorn by barleycorn*. It had taken her years to do it, even with magic.

She lit her horn in a simple light spell, one that Sunset quickly followed up with her own. She took a deep breath and then walked purposely into her daughter's tomb with the two young mares following, and Sunset bringing up the rear.

"You can shut us in. There are several of the old oxygen producing crystals embedded in the walls throughout here, and the second gateway leaks in oxygen when it is clear as well. There are light crystals deeper inside that can be activated once we get to them so we don't have to rely completely on our horns for illumination," she explained to her fellow alicorn. Sunset nodded back and briefly released her light spell so she could close them in. The stone above them slid back into place and shut out the majority of the light.

They walked on after that, descending inside for about three furlongs**. Once they reached the bottom of the ramp into the inner chamber she sent out her magic to find the crystals to bring full light to the place. As the room came into full light her companions gasped.

The chamber was large, but there was very little in it. There was the stone sarcophagus that she had placed her daughter's remains in, which was simple and unadorned. She didn't let her eyes linger on it too long, lest she fall into further depression. Also in the room was her entire ship, the Sea Lion. It was a great mass of metal with both engines and sails, and despite it only being able to carry a small crew comfortably had been her mobile home on the sea for many a year when she had disguised herself as a simple earth pony. It would have been an impressive sight even today when much more advanced vessels could be made, but neither her daughter's final resting place nor the ship was what likely caused her companions to gasp.

Taking up the entire far wall was the source of their shock. Rimmed in silver and rippling like the dark ocean at night was the second gate. It was perhaps the last of its kind, with the exception of wherever the Elder Gods touched this world through. It was also the largest of its kind as far as she knew.

"Is that what I think it is?" Sunset said in a hushed tone as she stared at the otherworldly artifact.

"It is exactly what you think it is, old friend," she answered.

"How..how did you find this? I thought they were all destroyed. Why did you keep this secret? We could have saved so many ponies by moving them to safety beyond it," Sunset's voice was shaky. She seemed to be barely containing her emotions.

"I didn't find it, Paleo did. She found it in her searches for her reflection after the fall of Harmony. It was no use in helping her find Patina, so she abandoned it. I claimed it, and brought it here, after I learned of it from her," Water Shadow explained as she watched the dark surface ripple. "As to the rest, I have to tell you that it is not a long term solution for any pony. When it is night the surface of it is this black you see now, and when it is black it is far more dangerous than anything you could imagine. When the sun shines outside with daylight this will protect all within perfectly from all evil."

"If it is only good for the daylight hours that doesn't make for much of a sanctuary," Sunset growled.

"It is complicated," she answered back. "Time doesn't behave the same way with it as you would expect. The flow is completely different, but predictable. If we enter in at dawn we only have twelve hours of light here to stay in, but within that twelve hours here it will seem twelve years there, twelve years of unending day. We both have time, and we don't, at the same time. Twelve years to think and consider what to do, contained in twelve hours."

"Um..excuse me, but what exactly is it you are sending my daughter through?" Midnight Glow spoke up. The young thestral was sitting down with her filly in her forelegs, her wings wrapped protectively around the little pegasus as both she and the filly gazed at the far wall.

"It is a mirror, a gateway to another universe," Sunset answered her.

No pony spoke up again after that. They all just sat gazing at the mirror. Dawn would be coming soon, and then they could make their way through. Then for what might seem twelve years nothing of the Elder Gods' could do them any harm.

Water Shadow didn't know if that would make a difference or not, but as she looked at glanced at Midnight Glow and Sweet Pea she silently vowed to herself that she would do everything to make that time count for them. No mother should ever be forced lose their foal to death before that foal could even reach adulthood.

Sea Star, I do this in memory of you, my precious daughter. I won't see another foal lost to mad ponies.

Author's Notes:

*Barleycorn is a unit of measurement. It is about 3 centimeters long.

**Furlong is about 1/8 of a mile or 1/5 of a kilometer.

Chapter 6: Monsters Lurking Near

The Mare of Shadows had been napping, but she woke now as something played at her mind. She concentrated on the thought for a moment and then let herself slide off the top of the casket with an tired groan.

Couldn't she just get some rest? She didn't feel like dealing with this right now, but unfortunately it was something else she could not leave without attention. There was a silent alarm that was going off from the vaults, and though whatever intruder dared go into them was certainly going to be soon dead, if not already, she still needed to find out where this intruder had come from and whether the intruder had disturbed anything.

She got to her hooves and walked down several different passageways through the labyrinth of the Sanctuary Tomb. She had designed this place to be needlessly complicated in design, with paths that went off to dead ends everywhere, and no straight path to any of the few notable places within the tomb. There weren't actually that many places to go in the tomb to tell the truth, even though it stretched hundreds of furlongs in all directions, including deep in the ground, with multiple levels stacked on top of one another. There was the central tomb chamber, which she spent most of her time, and the place that she made most difficult to reach, and held her most precious thing. There were the quarters for her diamond dogs, which she never bothered to go to herself. There were the pens, where they kept prisoners for her later pleasure. And finally there were the vaults, the second most difficult part of the complex to reach, with the second most important contents.

The Mare kept walking for many minutes, snaking her way through the many seemingly identical passageways. Grey stone walls all around, all poorly lit by only an occasional light crystal trying to cover too much area, and the entire place smelled like what it was-a tomb. Eventually she came to the vault doors. The doors were of extremely heavy unadorned stone, in black rather than the grey that everything else was made, and exceptionally thick. They were currently ajar, which was a pretty impressive feat for whoever the intruder had been. It took a lot of strength to get those doors to open. She did a quick check for magical residue and found none, indicating it had indeed been brute force used to open them.

As she stepped into the vault itself, with little actual concern, she took a brief glance around the massive chamber. Here was contained the remains of every pony she had ever personally killed. It had to be ponies that she had killed by hoof, not ones killed by her undead or minions, not ones who died as a side effect of something else she had done, just the ones she had personally murdered. They held special importance to her, and it was not simply some sick trophy case. These ponies she had access to the souls of, and contained those souls separately in the most secure place of all, herself. The bodies had their value beyond the souls, they held very precious information that she would one day need, once she had her final reward. In this room were aisle after aisle of small grey stone tombs for those bodies, stacked high on top of one another, making a its own little labyrinth into itself. Each of sarcophagi had a simple pony design etched on them indicating tribe, sex, and cutie mark of its content. All carefully etched by herself to identify who laid within. Even those victims who had no cutie marks were given entombment here. She was not a complete monster, she believed in giving her personal victims this final dignity.

The necromancer kept walking through the vault looking for any signs of anything having been disturbed. Only those who resided in the Sanctuary Tomb should even know of this place's existence. It was one of her most closely guarded secrets. Any intruder was likely just some spy from one of the other acolytes trying to gather information on her doings that had somehow wandered the Tomb long enough to find their way into here. Even if they reported it her fellow acolytes might just think it some monument to her perversion. The Elder Gods' corruption made them all sadists.

Perhaps she should put additional ways of hiding this place in some way. Normally there would have been some of her dogs patrolling the halls outside, but she had to kill so many in the last day to make her creations. Her living dogs were likely all hiding in some corner of the complex until they were sure she didn't need any more blood, she couldn't fault their desire for self preservation she supposed. They would come out and serve again when their fear subsided. They had little other choice but to do so or starve.

She allowed herself to brush her body up against the containers as she walked by, envisioning when she would eventually make use of these. It brought a smile to her face to think about it. This would all be worth it in the end, when she finally completed her contract of the extermination of Ponykind, and then dealt with each and every one of her fellow acolytes. This wasn't her final goal, just a final gift of love and final show of spite. This was the guardian of the tomb's project, but one she was eager to see through to the end.

That day was a long way off still, unfortunately. At least until some of the her acolytes stepped up and completed their respective contracts and inadvertently made their bells vulnerable. She wondered how many of her fellow acolytes actually understood the full mechanics of the bells, the masters didn't just give out that information. She had only learned of it by her dealings with the tomb's guardian. They almost certainly knew that the bells had ways of being destroyed, but she expected they didn't know what made them so they could be destroyed.

Grogar likely knew, he was much more knowledgeable about all things Elder God related, but she had her doubts about the others. Lavan and Araius were fools who desired only power and dominance, as if such things had any real value. Hydia was just incompetent, as was Ahuizotl. Bray was another incompetent idiot who Grogar now had the possession of the bell of, figuring out how to get his contract completed would be a challenge for her. Goldcap was one she could never get a good read on, nor did she have any clue to his final goal or contract. Zelroth was yet another mystery to her. Pinkie Pie was of course already dead and not a competitor for the final reward.

So many monsters, other than herself, left for her to kill. That troll Hydia would be the next to fall, even if if she had to complete Hydia's contract herself to make the hag vulnerable. Lavan would come next, and then she would determine who was next after that. There would only be one final reward given out by their masters, and it would be hers.

Nothing seemed to be disturbed anywhere within the vault on first glance. Whoever the intruder had been likely had been on the run as soon as he or she got into the vault. The guardian here was very protective of the place, this place held the guardian's hopes and desires even more than it held the Mare's. The intruder was almost certainly already dead, it was just a matter of finding the corpse.

She kept wandering aimlessly through the rows. Now she was coming upon the section that held the alicorn tombs. There were a few here that were recently opened, but that was because she had to have something powerful to work with for creating her hunters. She took a quick curious glance to see which alicorns they had brought her as looking at mere bones before didn't really tell her anything. It didn't really matter of course, but it was a passing interest. Looking at the tombs she could see the bodies of Somnambula, Rarity, and Luna had been chosen. Not the most interesting selections, with the possible exception of Luna's, but again it really didn't matter. Whenever her abominations were finally destroyed she would have their bones regathered and brought back here. She had tombs already waiting for Sunset Shimmer and Water Shadow that just needed to be filled. Unfortunately Flurry Heart had cheated her out of getting a full set of alicorns by committing suicide, such a selfish alicorn. There were some alicorns still bound in Tartarus as well that she would eventually need to add to her collection, but they really didn't feel like they counted, though she did already have a few of those here as well. Tarturus was a huge place and tracking them down wasn't a priority, they weren't going anywhere.

She finally found the body of her intruder right after she passed the open containers. A hippogriff buck had been the source of the alarm, his dead body was giving her a very happy smile. The fact that it was a hippogriff indicated this was a spy from Hydia most likely, though she supposed Grogar could have subverted one as well to try to mislead her into thinking so. She would have to ask the guardian if there had been anything gleaned from his mind before he died. There was no mark on him indicating how he died, but that was to be expected. Ghosts didn't kill you with anything that left wounds.

"Your puppies didn't do a good job of guarding the entrance," came an accusing voice from beside me.

"I apologize, I had to put a fair number of them down to work a strong spell. I am pretty sure the rest are hiding right now. I will see to it that they are back to guarding soon enough. Did you get any information out of him before you painted that smile on his face?" Mera asked the phantom beside her.

"Just a spy from Hydia, just looking around the complex for any information he could find at all. I think she has some sort of personal grudge with you or something. You two should sit down and have a party together and make friends," the voice answered her in a bored tone that picked up in pitch on the last sentence.

"You make the most absurd suggestions sometimes, do you know that? Over a thousand years dead and you still can't help thinking about laughing and parties. If I didn't have greater insight I would wonder how you could have ever been an acolyte, Pinkie," the Mare said as she turned an looked at the spectral pink pony.

The ghost shrugged her shoulders back at her. Pinkie Pie looked much as she had in life, except you could see through her now. She even still wore her collar, minus the long destroyed bell. Pinkie hadn't known her bell would become vulnerable after the Great Tree fell, and it had taken her by quite a bit of surprise to have the container of her soul crushed. It had been also been a shock to the Alicorn of Laughter to learn that she wasn't done with service just because her bell, and therefore soul, was gone now. The Elder Gods didn't let go with their tools so easily, and she was still collared even in death. There was irony in that the pony that loved surprises had died to one. How she still had a ghostly essence without being in possession of her soul was something that even the Mare wasn't entirely sure of the mechanics of how it worked.

It was a situation that worked out for the necromancer though. Pinkie Pie had given her plenty of information in the past, and was an unlikely ally. Their final goals did coincide with one another's nicely too. Though she was mildly jealous that Pinkie Pie had managed to avoid the majority of the Elder Gods' corruption by going and dying. Pinkie was completely free of the effects of bliss as a ghost. Of course you couldn't actually call Pinkie Pie a good pony by any means. This was the pony who orchestrated the fall of the Twilight Realm after all, and had done many a monstrous thing in pursuit of that goal. She might be able to pull the excuse that Grogar forced her to do the stuff up till the Tree, but everything between about seven years before the fall and her death was completely on Pinkie. The Mare to this day could not bring herself to think of this bitch as being technically her both mother-in-law and grandmare. She understood the pink alicorn's reasons and manipulations, but it earned her no love from the Mare. Pinkie deserved to suffer in death, but there was no way to accomplish that. The Mare of Shadows' lust to make Pinkie suffer for what she had done might never be satisfied. For now all there was left to do was see their combined work be brought to fruition eventually. There would be many others who she would see suffer for what they had done to her anyway, and many more who had already suffered. She would have retribution for what had happened.

"Do you think he was able to give any information back to the old troll?" she asked the ghost.

"He neither learned anything, nor did he get any information out. We played tag around the vault for a bit. He looks so happy now don't you think?" Pinkie Pie replied, pointing at the smiling face. The Mare hated seeing those smiles, they creeped her out, and Pinkie Pie was the primary reason for that. Something just felt unclean about dying that way to her, strange as that might sound. It felt cleaner simply mutilating them, mutilating caused suffering, their suffering was food and bliss for her at least. This dying of laughter seemed a perversion far worse than what she did, there was nothing to be gained from having something die this way. Pinkie was her own special blend of evil.

"I will get those guards back in place soon enough. Just keep the vaults safe in the meantime," she told the specter.

"I definitely will silly! We can't let anything interfere with our final surprises," the pink pony laughed.

Cotton Tail wondered if he was dead or if he was drugged and having some sort of psychedelic vision. If it was a psychedelic vision it definitely wasn't what he imagined one would be like. He was sitting on the edge of what he assumed to be the edge of a cliff, though he doubted it was actually anything so mundane. Behind him was what looked sort of like a house, but it was all wrong too. What lay before him was nothing of this world.

He gazed out at the area beyond. The air couldn't seem to make up it's mind what its color was, shifting constantly and drastically between colors, combinations of colors, and other times looking like it just became discolored water. He could breathe despite the constant changes, though it seemed it shouldn't work that way. Nothing made sense here.

From time to time he would see something out in the distance. Those things made no sense either. He saw a filly wearing some strange hat with a propeller on top, completely unaware of her surroundings, with her rump held high and the propeller on her hat spinning. He had tried to get her to take notice of him, but she seemed to be aware of nothing. He saw another pony who was wearing a strange uniform of some sort and a saddle bag was floating out there helplessly as well and had taken notice of him when he had shouted to the pony. His response wasn't very helpful before he had floated out of sight.

"I seem to have made a wrong turn somewhere. The mail service is going to fire me for sure for this," the pony had called back. He quickly drifted out of sight and sound after that. This place did seem to be about as wrong a turn as you could make.

He saw other things on and off in the aether. He had seen a giant eye with wings flying about, what looked like a train that zipped through from nothing and back into nothing. Dancing cows, pink rain clouds the poured some sort of liquid that definitely wasn't water, rabbits pulling lions from hats, cats playing pianos, the list of insane things just went on and on. He had debated trying to fly away from this cliff, but there didn't seem to be anywhere to go.

How had things come to him being stuck in this bizarre afterlife? Life hadn't been perfect for him, but his life had been better than most. He never knew growing up how bad it was for other ponies, but when he had been chosen as an acolyte he had been exposed to the reports. He had learned how truly terrible Ocid was when he had to start reporting the daily news to Water Shadow. She had to comfort him many a time as he had broken down reading her some of those reports, and he could tell his mistress grieved as well. Was this existence better than what Ocid had been for all the dead ponies over the years? If this was every pony's final fate it felt like a cheat, they deserved better.

He sighed and turned back towards the building behind him, not that it made any more sense. There was a couch in it at least that was comfortable and he could take a nap. The inside of the house had floating furniture, stairs on the ceiling, doors that went nowhere, and fish that occasionally would swim through the air. He had panicked when he first found himself here, but at this point he had calmed down and really had no idea what to do with himself here. He had long since given up trying to make any sense of it. He just accepted the afterlife just made no bloody sense.

He found the couch floating in the same stationary place in the air it had been. He half expected each time he came into this house that everything would be different, on account of how everything on the outside was constantly changing, but things remained more or less the same each time. Occasionally it was fish swimming through the air, sometimes it was singing tea bags ranging through the air, but everything was more or less the same. It was what counted as order in this place.

Cotton Tail flew up to the couch and made himself comfortable. He hoped the tea bags wouldn't come through anytime soon, they were loud and annoying. He just wanted to sleep so he didn't have to deal with this place for a little while again. He wasn't really tired, but dreams were easier to make sense of. It seemed strange that even when dead you could still dream.

As he lay there he thought about his mother. Was she dead? If she was dead then why wasn't she here with him in this weird afterlife? Perhaps every pony had their own personal weird afterlife. He wondered if hers was like this, or if it was something completely different. Maybe other ponies earned different final afterlives, based on their lives, and his could have been much worse than this. At least nothing was hurting him here. He would like to think his mother enjoyed something more blissful though.

Maybe she had somehow survived and only he had died. He didn't remember dying, but that was the best explanation for anything he had found.

Closing his eyes he considered whether he should try flying out into the weirdness and search for other ponies. There had to be other places out there somewhere. Perhaps one of them had his mother. At the very least he could hopefully find some other pony to actually spend time with. The ponies he saw floating in the weirdness must have come from somewhere. He had been too timid to try to fly out into it up to this point, but there didn't seem to be much else to do. He wished he had tried to fly out to the one pony that had answered him, but the pony moved too quickly through the aether for him to have accomplished it.

"Are you just going to be a lazy freeloader in my home, Rabbit Butt?"

Cotton Tail's eyes shot open and he fell off the couch in his startled state. He quickly got back up and looked at the source of the voice. Standing right before him was Moon Fury.

"Seriously, I bring you here and all you can manage to do is mope about and sleep," Moon Fury fussed at him.

"Moon Fury?" Cotton Tail asked in disbelief, was Moon Fury dead too, or was this more of the insanity of this place?

"We'll go with that name for now. And no thank you for saving you from certain death in that mine? A freeloader and ungrateful as well," Moon Fury said. He then grabbed one of the singing tea bags that had just entered into the room again and tossed it in a kettle, which promptly started boiling. The tea bag kept singing within. Did the little thing feel pain? Cotton Tail hoped not, the little tea bags were annoying, but there was no need for torture.

"I'm not dead? Where are we?" Was all Cotton Tail could think to say.

"Still no thank you, even when put on the spot. Your mother would be so disappointed in you, do you know that?" Moon Fury accused. Cotton Tail's mind immediately found something to focus clearly on after the remark about his mother.

"Where is my mother? Why didn't you bring her here too?" He demanded. If Moon Fury had saved him then why hadn't he saved his mother? She had clearly been in more dire need. Why not just save every pony for that matter?

"I couldn't just grab her when every pony was watching. But fear not, I will see to her rescue soon enough. I only saved you because it would break her heart if you had been killed. I am sure that when she finds out you nearly got yourself killed she will have a lot more to say about how stupid you are than I could come up with," Moon Fury answered. He then grabbed the kettle with one wing and grabbed a pink teacup from somewhere, and proceeded to pour himself a glass of singing tea. When he took a drink from it he somehow drank the teacup, leaving the singing tea sitting suspended in the air. He then shrugged, and produced a tiny bag from somewhere and put the tea in it, which promptly transformed itself back into a teabag and went happily singing away. This place made no sense. Maybe Cotton Tail was just having a really extended, really strange, dream.

"Where are we if we aren't dead?" Cotton Tail asked, gesturing around the room.

"This is a little pocket dimension. It has been my home for longer than any living pony has been around. I have been having fun with you ponies since before either of your alicorns were even conceived in their mothers' wombs. You little ponies even turned me to stone, twice actually. I have to tell you being a statue is really very boring. I am very disappointed in Sunset Shimmer that she didn't recognize me. The blue one you serve, Wet Shave, Tooth Paste, or whatever her name is gets a pass on that since she never really dealt with me. But I am personally hurt about Bacon Hair not recognizing me. I thought we were better friends than that," Moon Fury lamented.

"What are you?" Cotton Tail said shakily. It was clear to him now that Moon Fury wasn't just some other pony, nor was this place employing any form of pony magic.

"Oh, I thought you would never ask," Moon Fury said with a sly smile. There was a quick flash of light that made Cotton Tail have to shield his eyes.

When he looked again in the direction of Moon Fury no pony stood before him. Instead was something completely alien. It had the head of a pony or perhaps a goat. It had two mismatched horns of unknown types. One foreleg had a paw at the end, but the other had a claw. His hind legs were also mismatched, as well as his wings. He had a long serpentine body, and a single fang poking out of his mouth. His eyes were yellow where they should be white, and his irises were red. An unkempt thin beard hung from the creature's chin.

"I am Discord, Lord and Spirit of Chaos, and I have grown so bored lately. I am ready to play some games. Do you want to help me have some fun?" The strange creature grinned and rubbed his claw and paw together in expectation.

What was Cotton Tail in league with?

This place was different from most the areas she had to transverse. There was plant-life here, not much of it, but there was some. That was an interesting thing to see. First Word found herself just staring at the few trees in fascination. She also noticed grass growing as well in a few areas. Life clung to this little stretch of land near the coast, and it fascinated her.

First Word could feel with her magic the plants struggling to pull nutrients from the ground. She could feel the seeds making small roots to do the same. One day those seeds would grow into full plants, if they didn't die first. They had no wants and their goal was simply to exist. They seemed to serve no purpose whatsoever. What purpose was there in just existing? There was none in it that she could imagine. These things didn't deserve their life if they had no purpose. She had purpose, so she had value. There was no point wasting time focusing on those things that had none.

She looked around the area and found a large stone that seemed to be out of place with the rest of the landscape. There was writing on the stone. She knew how to read, though she didn't know when she had learned how to do so. Her mother must have granted her this knowledge, which indicated that she wanted First Word to read. She wanted to do as her mother wished, so she read the inscription. Something about a beloved daughter named Sea Star, and something about failing her. How did a mother fail her daughter? Was it not the daughter who was obligated not to fail the mother? This seemed to have been carved by the mother, and Sea Star had apparently been very important to her.

She had believed she only existed to serve her mother's will. Was she of any deeper importance to her own mother, beyond her purpose? Did her mother have any sort of obligation to her as well? What purpose did her mother serve? If her mother had no purpose then what did that mean for her own purpose? She needed to learn the purpose for her mother to answer that. Perhaps this Sea Star had no purpose either, but somehow had value. She would have to consider these questions at greater length later, she had obligations to complete now.

She had been sure that the alicorn magic had originated from near this spot, now that she was here she could find residue of the more alicorn magic here, but she saw no alicorns. They had to be close, the sense of the magic was fresh, and had to have occurred soon after the first large flash of magic she had felt from afar. Perhaps she should fly along the coast some more and see if the alicorn was nearby. The sun would be rising in a few minutes, and she would be able to easily spot anything moving about then.

She looked at the large stone again. The stone felt strongly of the magic. Why did it feel so strongly? This seemed like an important question to ask. She needed to understand what the alicorn had done here. She stretched out her magical senses into the area around the stone and her eyes widened. There was a place under the stone, not simply ground. This was no mere stone, it was a door. She smiled with pride that asking questions had led her to this discovery. Her mother would be proud of her, and she realized she wanted her mother's pride; she hungered for that pride. She wanted her mother to call her beloved as this Sea Star's mother called her.

Pulling the massive stone free from the ground she found a passage leading into the ground below. It reminded her much of the one she had emerged from when leaving the place of her creation. She was confident that the alicorn and the pegasus were down in there somewhere. There was no where else of note to go around this region, there were few other ruins and not much for cover.

Following the orders given by her mother she sent out a signal to say where the alicorn was to be found. It was her duty now to subdue, but not kill, Sunset Shimmer and the pegasus filly. This was her purpose at the moment. She would make her mother proud. She would be beloved too.

The predawn light was just peaking out over the horizon as she descended into the womb of the ground, ready to fulfill her purpose.

Author's Notes:

If you are really interested in what Pinkie did you can read more details here. Be warned it might cause some spoilers.

Chapter 7: End of the Line

There was a time in her life, very recently, that the thing Midnight Glow worried most about was getting to work on time. Yeah, the failure to make it to work on time consistently was getting put into the Bakery, but in the last day that felt like a much preferable thing to worry about.

She was now desperately trying to hide herself and her filly behind the ancient ship that was in the tomb. Beside her cowered Sweet Pea as well. They were doing everything they could to stay out of sight and out of mind. They were both still armed with their guns, but those weapons meant nothing in this fight.

Standing at the entrance to the room was a creature of pure nightmare. Midnight was sure this was the Mare of Shadows herself, come to take or kill Dove, and slay the rest of them. Calling the monster that was attacking bloody was a massive understatement, the creature was blood without flesh or muscle. Just a shifting mass of gore draped over a skeleton. She had seen plenty of undead on the monitors back in Ocid, this thing was no mere undead, this was a thing that only existed in her worst nightmares.

There was but one positive at the moment; that was that the monster was completely focused on the two alicorns. So focused that it couldn't be bothered by lesser beings such as herself and Sweet Pea. Sweet Pea had tried at first to take advantage of this fact and sent out many shots at the thing's head. Unfortunately those shots didn't seem to do anything to the creature, not even annoy it, as it didn't even seem to notice direct hits. Now all there was to do was hide behind the ship and hope the two alicorns could hold it back till full sunrise.

Midnight glanced at the massive mirror behind her. It was getting lighter in color. Water Shadow had said the thing would light up brightly when the sun was fully up, but it was certain death up to that point. Midnight stared at the reflective surface for a long moment wondering if going through it was a risk worth taking or not. Surely anything beyond it was better than the situation they were in right now.

"Alicorns, simply give up and allow me to deliver you to my mother. She wishes that I only deliver you to her," the monster shouted. It sent another wave of magic that bombarded the combined shields of the two alicorns. Midnight could see the fight dimly reflected in the dark surface of the mirror, and she could feel the magical backlash.

"I don't particularly feel like trading possibly being killed by you for getting whatever treatment your mother has in store for us. Nor will I willingly surrender the foal into the care of the Elder Gods. Anything that the Elder Gods want I will fight tooth and hoof to deny," Sunset yelled back to the monster. As soon as the monster's magic faded briefly she fired off a beam of liquid fire at the thing, but fire died uselessly as it hit the shield that the monster had created.

"You will cause me to fail my mother. Why do you want me to fail my mother?" The thing demanded, sounding like it was whining.

"If you can't figure that out then she didn't make you very intelligent. How about you go back outside and think about it like a good little foal!" Sunset snarled back, then quickly braced her shield spell again as another wave of smoke and green flame poured down on it.

Midnight kept watching the mirror, hoping that it would soon light up. The fight seemed a stalemate at the moment. The two alicorns were putting up enough defense that the monster couldn't get them, but they were unable to do anything to actually defeat the beast or force it back. She kept expecting the thing to change targets and go for Dove. Dove was what the thing was here for after all.

As she continued to watch the fight, with the mirror slowly getting less dark, she wondered what she had to offer her daughter if they got out of this alive. She had been trying to prepare Dove for the life she thought Dove would have. She had been trying so hard. However, it seemed the thing that Dove needed to know now was how to defend herself against monsters like this, and Midnight had no clue how to do that. What could she possibly teach Dove that would be helpful in this kind of situation? Hide or your dead? She couldn't do anything for Dove, and it left her feeling a failure as a mother.

"My mother will be here soon with my sisters. There is no hope for you to avoid being captured," the monster announced. "I simply want Sunset Shimmer and the filly, surrender those two and the rest may flee safely. Is it not better to sacrifice two so three may live, rather than sacrifice none and see all die?"

The monster's perverted logic felt far too similar to the logic Ocid operated on for Midnight's liking. Even though they had been forced to flee Ocid she was now starting to feel she would have wanted to have been gone from the place anyway. The price for safety should not be so steep. They shouldn't be forced to sacrifice so many just to pretend they were safer that way. Ocid was no better than the necromancer.

Why was her filly's life so important to every pony? Ponies were born all the time. Dove hadn't done anything wrong, she was just born. She hadn't asked to be a pegasus, she didn't ask to be born with a cutie mark. She was an infant, she couldn't even comprehend what these things meant or that she was different. She couldn't even understand language yet. Living wasn't a crime. Why couldn't they just punish Midnight for giving birth to her, at least she had done something, even if she didn't mean to. She would submit to anything if it meant they would leave Dove alone.

Midnight screamed in fright as the ship suddenly lurched behind her, breaking her out of her train of thought and silent observation at the mirror. The monster clearly knew Dove was over here. It was trying to either crush them, or force them out into the open.

"Bah, I have more than one target to capture here. I will give my mother what she wants. If I must wait to claim you, alicorn, then I will go for the other target for now," she heard the creature announce with an annoyed tone.

"Let's move farther away from this thing before she crushes us with it," Sweet Pea whispered as she crawled a little further away from the ship, but still kept the ship between her and the monster.

"The Mare of Shadows is going to get us," Midnight weeped. "She is turning her attention towards us now. She wants Dove and is going to take her from me."

"That thing isn't the Mare of Shadows," Sweet Pea responded in a harsh whisper. "Haven't you been listening to it? That is a foal in a monster's body trying to make her mommy smile. I have dealt with enough foals now that I recognize a foal eager to please its mother. That thing can be outwitted though because of that. Foals aren't stupid, but they are ignorant, and I have a feeling that thing has far less experience with things than most foals. Just keep the ship far enough away it can't crush you and keep moving with it. I am sure the creature will get confused. It won't understand why it can't get you out or see you, just like an infant playing peekaboo."

Was it really that simple? Was the thing really as easy to fool as a young foal? What happened when it finally got mad enough to throw a temper tantrum then? Midnight shivered not wanting to find out what a creature like that could do if it threw such a fit, but the idea that she was dealing with some newborn and not the Mare of Shadows herself gave her some small hope, and she nodded back to her friend.

The ship moved again as the thing fired on the ship. The two mares moved with it as it lurched. The creature cried out in frustration as they were still not revealed and it had to forced to stop in order to ward off more blasts from the alicorns.

"What do we do when its mommy comes?" Midnight asked in a quaking voice.

"Let's hope its mommy is not here by the time that mirror lights up," Sweet Pea said quietly, panting with her own barely contained panic. Her eyes hardened after that as a thought seemed to occur to her. "I'd like to give her a piece of my mind for sending an infant to do this kind of thing. I don't care if that thing is a monster, it is still a foal. Foals shouldn't be used this way. It is horrible."

"I know you feel passionately about foals, but I think this is one time your caring is severely misplaced," Midnight said more harshly than she intended. "Don't forget that foal is trying to get mine, not to mention kill us!"

"I know," Sweet Pea whispered while giving Midnight a sympathetic gaze. "I am just adding this to my reasons I hate the necromancer. First she demands the sacrifice of foals, then she uses them as weapons. Why does the world have to be so horrible that even foals aren't innocent? I'd want to think that at least foals would be outside all this."

The ship lurched again, and the two friends had to run quickly to make sure they weren't crushed by it as it went further than it had before. Now they were at a point that they couldn't run any further in the same direction. They were nearly pinned against the now silvery mirror. It wasn't fully lit up yet, but it was almost to there. Almost, they had been stressed, was simply not good enough. However, they were at the point that if the ship took another such blow they would either be crushed, have to run into the open, or risk the mirror.

The monster screamed with rage that it still had not driven them out of hiding. They couldn't get a good look at it in the mirror from this angle, they were too close to the mirror to see much more than their own reflections and the reflection of the ship. However, they could tell that the temper tantrum was starting now, if the creature's screams of rage and frustration were any indication.

The whole room shook with the waves of power that were coming off the thing. They could see dust and chunks of rock falling from the ceiling as the creature shook the chamber with its anger. It was just raging, it most likely wasn't even doing this on purpose. It was an angry demigod blindly lashing out with power.

A large chunk of rock came crashing down from the ceiling next to Midnight, and she flinched away in fear and shock. As she did her wing brushed up against the mirror for just the briefest part of a second. She felt something extremely wrong about the mirror that she couldn't describe, like it hungered for her. When she pulled her wing away it was numb and bleeding, though nothing should have cut it. She tried to push herself a little further away from the mirror, though that was near impossible. She was now convinced of Water Shadow's warnings about it. There was something waiting in the dark within that mirror, and it would only go away in the full light of the sun. That smallest touch of the surface had been more than enough to convince her that the mirror was still too dangerous.

"Sunset Shimmer, it has been far too long. Thank you for finding her my hunter, you have served me well," came a new voice from across the chamber. Midnight's blood went cold as she thought No, no, no!. The Mare of Shadows had arrived.

"Oh, and that is interesting to see. You have a mirror here. I didn't think there were any other than Grogar's left. Hadn't Pinkie Pie destroyed the last other one herself not too long before she went off the deep the end? I will make use of this mirror. I promise it won't go to waste," the voice continued. "Sadly for you it doesn't seem to be active right now, they all had their own rules about when they open; I guess you were either too slow or too early to use it, so sad."

A sudden new thought of dread entered into Midnight's head. Even if the mirror lit up, as it surely would any second now, what was stopping the necromancer from just following them right in? Water Shadow hadn't said that there was anything from stopping that, only assurances that they would be safe.

All these thoughts were cut off as the mirror flared to life. The entire surface brightly lit up all at once, and a light rainbow spectrum refracted off the surface of the mirror. It was impossible to actually see any sort of reflection off the mirror now, it was just a wall of strong light. Surprisingly it somehow didn't hurt her eyes, it actually felt gentle on her eyes and she could look directly at the mirror with no pain.

This capability to look directly at the mirror was not shared by the Mare of Shadows or her abomination. Both could be heard screaming in pain, and after a brief moment both could be heard making a quick retreat up the ramp to the surface. Midnight allowed herself a sigh of relief as it seemed that the unholy creatures couldn't follow.

"All of you near me now! We must all enter at the same time or risk getting separated by hours or days. Time is of the essence, every ten seconds we lose about a day's worth of peace," Water Shadow shouted to the party.

Midnight and Sweet Pea didn't hesitate. They quickly got back to their hooves and hurried over to the alicorns.

"Waaboo!" Dove said excitedly as she looked at the mirror, clapping her little hooves together. The little filly had been extremely quiet during the entire encounter, not uttering a peep. She had likely been terrified, but hadn't cried as a normal foal would. It was something Midnight could wonder about after they were somewhere safe. The ones who wanted Dove dead were still just outside and likely trying to figure out how to counteract the light.

The alicorns moved to stand to opposite sides of the two younger mares, and stretched a wing out on each touching them. The entire party lined up in front of the mirror next to each other.

"On the count of three step forward. Ready? One, two, three," Water Shadow said quickly.

They all stepped forward into the mirror together and were enveloped on the light.

The Mare of Shadows silently raged at herself as she angerly paced back and forth outside the tomb. Looking down within she could still see the light, but she was far enough away from it now that it wasn't hurting her. She apparently had to have it shinning directly on her to feel the pain of it. It had not impacted any of the ponies she had been after so it must be some sort of adverse effect on beings filled with necromatic magic.

This was all her fault and she knew it. She had been arrogant and sat there talking rather than taking action. Her prey had been hopelessly trapped as she understood it. The two alicorns together might have been able to hold her hunter at bay, but they would have been quickly crushed by her if she had just taken action. Now they were in some other world and she couldn't even get near the mirror to chase after them. This is what came from being low on bliss, too much eagerness to talk rather than kill right away, and it had cost her dearly in this situation.

She considered whether she could possibly get through if she armored herself up somehow, something to keep the light off her. That might work to get down in the chamber, but she was not sure it would work for actually trying to pass through the mirror.

Another option was to simply destroy the mirror and leave them stranded in whatever world they had retreated to. She was fairly sure that would count for having dealt with the pegasus filly, but it would leave two more alicorns beyond her reach. Plus, they might somehow find a way back across despite this mirror being destroyed, as she really had no clue what manner of world they had escaped to or its capabilities. Further, she really desired to add the last two to her collection, and make Sunset suffer. If she destroyed the mirror she was surrendering the filly's magic as well. These were all outcomes that might satisfy her masters, but were unacceptable for her.

It seemed her only option was to set up a guard around the mirror for when, and if, they all returned. She would try sending one of her hunters in after the other two arrived and see what happens. It would need to be armored, so it could reach the mirror, but she could deal with that once she had calmed down a little more. She would consider the filly dealt with until it returned to this world. If it didn't ever leave that world she would have to count it as good riddance. Her contract only involved killing all the ponies of this world, not ponies in the great beyond. Let them do whatever they liked if they stayed off this one, it was no concern to her beyond her drive to gain more power. Though this could be an interesting loophole in her contract down the line that would play well with her plans, she was already planning on exploiting loopholes where she could. The contract had to be followed to the letter, not the intent.

The Mare would need to go to sleep soon. She had to attend to Peridot since the Ponymother had failed to deliver her the foal. She still had no intention of actually destroying Ocid yet, but they didn't know that. She would have to balance the situation carefully. She couldn't push on Peridot too hard at this point or the Ponymother would break, or possibly start thinking. Peridot was fragile as it was, and needed to maintain some semblance of sanity if she was going to stop Ocid from completing the Mare of Shadows contract prematurely by imploding on itself. Perhaps she could allow the ponies more freedom in return for some pony sacrifices. Something to ease the tension of the place while still keeping her still saturated in bliss.

At some point Peridot would start thinking though. The leader of Ocid always was one that couldn't see the forest through the trees. A regular raging bull that just charged straight forward. That didn't mean she couldn't figure things out eventually, the crystal pony was slow to think, but she could do so if you rubbed her muzzle in things too much and gave her time. She must coerce Peridot into doing things before Peridot had the downtime to actually consider them.

She worked to calm herself and prepared herself for sleep.

Night Mist lay in the pens waiting to be taken to be processed. Around her were numerous other ponies who were also in line to meet their fate today. She couldn't really do much to look around, her body didn't work, but she could hear still. There were ponies weeping, pleading with the guards to please let them go, and a few sang quiet songs to themselves. The vast majority likely sat silently, but she wasn't able to really tell. Within the hour many of them would be meal bars, and all of them would certainly be before the day was out.

She heard a commotion coming from the direction of the door. The guards were either adding a new pony to the herd or taking one away to be processed. She saw the guards pass by her and pull away a pony from the far end of the room, it sounded like a young stallion by the wails, but she really couldn't tell. There was a great deal of yelling, and she could hear a lot more crying going on. After a moment she heard the door slam shut again, and the room went quiet except for the silent sounds of crying.

"Night Mist?" a voice questioned her. It took her a moment to place the voice, but it came to her.

"Hello Sweet Eclipse <cough>, I would raise my head to look at you, but Peridot got kind of rough with me," she replied back with some effort. Sweet Eclipse was a thestral mare in her forties who was one of Water Shadow's acolytes.

"What in Tartarus did she do to you?" the other thestral mare said with concern.

"She threw me hard against a cell wall and snapped my back. I kind of goaded her into it, and I have no regrets. It just means I won't feel it in most places when I get taken away. I was shot in the hoof before that, and definitely glad I can't feel that anymore," Night Mist answered indifferently.

"I am so sorry that happened to you. Did Cotton Tail and my mistress get away safely?" Sweet Eclipse asked quietly.

"Yes, they did, along with Midnight Glow, her filly, her unicorn friend, Moon Fury, and my mistress. That drunken brute didn't get them. They aren't safe still, there is still everything outside to deal with, but they aren't going to die in here," she replied back with a small sigh. "Is Spiral Flow here too?"

"He is over in the corner, not talking, not acknowledging anything said to him. I think he is suffering from shock," Sweet Eclipse responded. "I am too I think. I should be upset or panicking, but I just feel emotionally detached. Like I am not about to die. It just all happened so suddenly and I don't think I have processed it yet. Guessing I will be actually processed before my mind catches up to the idea."

"I am at peace with what is coming. I even told that bitch off like I always wanted to, before she snapped my spine. It felt liberating to finally do that," Night Mist tried to laugh, but wasn't able to get it out.

"I wish I could have done that too. She was always spying on us, never seeming to care about anything that goes on, drunk more often than not. She didn't seem like she was ever there when she was there. But yet she is in charge of Ocid somehow," Eclipse could be heard sneering out each crime.

"I am told she was once much more attentive and actually put in effort. Think it all just got too much for her. It wouldn't have been that bad if she would have just stepped down and let our mistresses take care of things, but she held onto her power like a foal holding on to its favorite toy. Most ponies aren't cut out to do that kind of job, and most ponies aren't cut out to be immortal, she is bad at both. It is outside our need to care anymore though," Night Mist observed. "I hope they come for me next. I don't want to keep hearing this weeping for too long. Just finish me off, don't keep me around all this misery."

The sound of the door opening again could be heard. There was another uptick in the crying and whimpering in the room as ponies dreaded that there time had come. Night Mist heard the hoovesteps advancing and stop near her, she could in fact see one set of hooves right in front of her muzzle. It seemed that her wish was granted, it was her turn now.

"I'll see you in whatever afterlife awaits Eclipse, it's been a good run," she said as the guards hoisted her up on the back of one of their number.

"I'll say a prayer to the alicorns of old for a peaceful rest for you. May Twilight Sparkle take mercy on you in the afterlife," Eclipse responded back quietly.

She was taken out of the chamber and out onto the factory floor. She was tossed down near the binding mechanism like a discarded bag. Her head came down hard on the floor and bounced, causing her to wince in pain. Sadly she still felt pain in one region.

There was some sort of argument was going on between the technician and the guards. She couldn't make out the details, but the tech seemed to be outraged about something. Perhaps the tech didn't like the idea that Night Mist wasn't getting euthanized. It wasn't like these ponies were completely heartless. They were just ponies doing their jobs.

"Can we get on with this? I don't want any pony getting into trouble for not working efficiently," Night Mist said as loudly as she could manage. She wondered how they were reacting to that, if they even heard her. She couldn't be the only pony to ever just want to get it all over with at this stage.

She heard a several sets of hooves come over near her, and she could see out of her periphery vision ponies strapping her up for processing. They strapped each of her hooves, even the mutilated one, in a spread eagle position around a large steel hoop. They took her wings likewise and spread them out to full extension within the hoop. She had never actually watched this being done before, so now that she was in a position she could make out what was going on she tried to take in as much as she could. This would be the last thing she ever learned about after all.

A younger crystal pony mare, who couldn't have been in her job position long, approached her after the steel hoop was raised so she was now hanging erect. The mare kept shooting glares at the guards, but looks of sympathy at Night Mist's direction.

"I do apologize, I really don't want to have to do this for you, but you will be withheld the normal drugs that would have you dead before what is about to happen. They are making me use some other thing on you that will keep you awake. It is an even more monstrous thing than normal to order such a thing. I just wanted you to know I wanted no part of this, I just have no choice," the crystal pony mare pleaded her case. She looked extremely uncomfortable and ashamed. Night Mist wondered what having this for a job did to a pony. What was it like to get dragged away when you were just seventeen and get told your job for the rest of your life was to kill ponies so they could be eaten?

"I understand, sweetie. Just do your job," Night Mist replied.

The mare looked surprised, and perhaps grateful for the response. The overseer then went back to her terminal and set things in motion. The hoop was raised up in the air further and from the ceiling descended a large mechanical arm with two needles sticking out of it. She knew what this was for, as she knew the procedure, but it was an intimidating thing to actually look at. She was glad once again she wouldn't be able to feel those needles go in.

The arm went up to her and stabbed the needles straight into her mid-section. One of the needles began withdrawing her magical essence, which would be used for what little power it could provide. The other needle was usually the one that would simply kill her with the drug that it injected, she guessed it had been reloaded for this run with whatever it was that was keeping her awake through all of this.

She watched in fascination as a glowing essence passed through the first needle. Despite not being able to feel anything she still felt like she was getting weaker, kind of light-headed. Her color faded a somewhat as more of the glowing essence went through the needle. Without being able to see it she knew that her cutie mark was now fading away, and would still be gone. It was like the machine was stealing part of her soul. The other needle began pumping whatever it was injecting in and she suddenly became much more alert. After what felt like forever the arm withdrew from her, and then retreated back into the ceiling.

The hoop now started moving through the air towards the next stage of the Bakery. She knew what was coming, each tribe had their own route through the Bakery, with their own procedures that would be done. The next stage for her would involve the severing of her wings. Wings didn't have enough meat on them to be useful for food, but their leather could be used for other things. They would cut off the wings to be processed separately from her.

The movement came to a halt over a large pit. She assumed that was where her severed wings would be dropped down to be processed. She could see on the edge of the pit blood splatters that indicated that a lot of blood was shred right above it. If some pony was responsible for cleaning that daily she didn't envy them their job. She couldn't imagine any pony being able to keep themselves sane through doing such a thing long. Actually this whole facility might have a high turnover, the tech that had spoken to her was young after all.

Being at complete peace with the fact that you were about to die definitely makes the mind go strange places. Night Mist thought to herself as she waited the next piece of horrific equipment to come.

There came the machine. This one was two long buzz saws that would simply saw off her wings. Maybe she would get lucky and die of blood loss from this before she got to the skinning. She was not looking forward to that at all. She had fur in spots she could still feel sensation, so that was going to be painful. She should be terrified, but this would all be over in a few minutes. She was a grown mare, she could deal with a few minutes of pain.

The blades connected with her wing bases. Night Mist watched as they began cutting through her flesh. It was surreal knowing that she was in the process of losing two of her limbs and not being able to feel it. Technically she could have counted them already lost when Peridot had made her lose all sensation below the neck. She was nothing more than a head already if you thought about it that way. She was forced to shut her eyes though because the blood was spraying everywhere. She could feel it hitting her face, getting into her nostrils and leaking into her mouth. Little tiny bits of her own flesh splattered across her face with the blood. The saws could be heard grinding through the bone.

In seemingly no time at all the sound of the blades and the splattering stopped. She opened her eyes just in time to see the steel hoop release her wings from their bindings to fall into the pit below. She had already lost use of them before this, but seeing them detached and dropped into the pit below made her want to sob. She wasn't as completely emotionally detached as she had just thought.

Only one more real stop left now. The next part was the processor. It would skin her and then start ripping every piece of meat from her body. Her bones would be then taken and ground up for other use. Her fur would be taken for leather. The processor was a big machine with massive screens to guard against getting the blood everywhere. It wasn't just a messy ordeal, it was one even the most hardened workers here likely couldn't stomach to watch. She would get to die with some privacy at least.

Thinking of privacy she tried to glance around as best she could. Where how many ponies were out on the Bakery floor? She had some idea of how much workforce the Bakery had from her reports, and understood the basics of how it operated, but had never seen the place in action until now. Looking around was something to focus on rather than her impending meeting with the processor. She could keep herself calm as long as she didn't think about what was happening too much, just like she would if she were getting a shot from a nurse, except more extreme.

Her eyes became glued on just one pony below and wasn't able to really look around. Peridot Glow was down there watching. The Ponymother had the defense of Ocid to concern herself about in the face of a possible attack, so of course she was not doing that in favor of watching some pony get what was coming to them for crossing her, the stupid bitch. She wanted to tell off an insult at the large crystal pony, but didn't have the strength to do so.

"Every pony look and see what happens to those that betray Ocid," the Ponymother shouted out. Night Mist groaned internally at how extremely dumb their leader was. She had known it for years, but Peridot was really pushing her normal stupidity and vindictiveness today.

It wasn't her problem any more though. She was now approaching her final destination, and had just seconds left to live. Whatever afterlife there was had to be better than concerning herself with that overgrown mare-foal.

She drew near the processor and could see within the skinning knives ready to start operation. The things were still soaked with the blood of all of today's victims. How many different ponies blood would her blood be mixed with?

She entered into the processor and the knives went to work, starting with her mid section. She saw them go into her flesh and begin cutting. She then closed her eyes both because she couldn't bear to see this, and she wanted to brace herself when they reached her neck and head. She would no doubt be screaming in a second as the knives reached nerves that were properly attached.

It had been a good life, but now it was over.

Chapter 8: New Lives

When she exited out the other side of the mirror Midnight found herself and her companions in something out of a storybook. She found herself outside a cliff side in an area completely filled with tall trees and green grass. There were blue skies and puffy white clouds like she had never seen before even when out on top of the dome, and she could hear the sounds of the ocean in the distance somewhere as well. It was like what she had seen in pictures of the world before the Dead Lands spread out across the continent. Seeing it in person was an entirely different experience than seeing still photos and paintings. She let out a long gasp as she looked around. She could hear Sweet Pea echo that gasp beside her, and Dove just giggled and cooed as she tended to do with everything.

"Welcome to what I like to call the World of Eternal Day," Water Shadow announced with a flourish.

"Not the most original name for a world I have ever heard. I presume it means the sun never sets?" Sunset said as she looked around the area.

"It does set, and we will have to leave before it goes does that, but it will take twelve years for it to set. Those twelve years will be like twelve hours on the other side of the mirror. Time flows differently between this world and ours; as you know it is not uncommon for different worlds to flow at slightly different speeds of time. I haven't been here in over eight centuries, and the amount of time that passed on this side of the mirror in that period can only be measured in eons," Water Shadow explained.

"Um, forgive me, but two questions," Midnight spoke up, feeling growing concern. "Where did the mirror go? It isn't behind us. The other is why is night so dangerous?"

"The mirror is still right behind us, it is this cliff. We can step through it any time," Water Shadow replied, gesturing back to the cliff face.

"And the danger?" Sunset asked.

"A lot of time has passed here, but I doubt it has changed. There are terrible things in the depths of this world. They lurk deep beneath the oceans and down in dark caverns. They are far worse than the undead, or The Mare of Shadows. The closest thing I can describe it as being comparable is trying to face off against Grogar within the borders of Tambelon. We can't win against such things, but they can't stand the light of this sun, nothing filled with dark magic can," Water Shadow said as she gazed up towards the sun. "But when the sun goes down, and the night finally comes they will try to come for us, and we need to leave. We will likely be headed straight back into the same situation we left, but we will at least have these twelve years to figure out some sort of way of dealing with that. Don't go out swimming in the ocean, and don't go into any caves. When I learned of what lurked there I barely escaped with my life."

Midnight couldn't help but glance around and look for any caves, and the sound of the ocean in the distance seemed far more menacing.

"Anything else we need to be concerned about?" Sunset asked with a narrowed brow.

"It has been the equivalent of millions of years since I last set hoof here," Water Shadow said with a sigh. "I can only guess at what the local flora and fauna is like at this point. There were some venomous snakes and insects when I was here last, a few smaller animals that made nuisance of themselves, but nothing too major. Still it is worth taking caution with everything. I don't know what is out there now. I doubt any form of civilized life, the things below seem to hate anything remotely similar to that."

"This seems like a foolhardy place to come to with all that information, Shadow," Sunset said sternly. The great golden alicorn looked around herself after than then sighed. "But I suppose it will have to work. If we can make this work for the full time it allows perhaps we can think of something to better do about the Mare of Shadows hunting us. It will also give us some time to figure out why Dove is so important to them. I am sure we can get some gauge on what her cutie mark means in that much time, she will be a preteen by the time we need to leave after all. I am sure it has something to do with that cutie mark, we had that earth pony colt born about two centuries ago that they never bothered us about. It was a shame he never was able to sire a continuation of his tribe."

"Wait, Dove isn't the first time one of the dead tribes was just randomly born?" Midnight asked, now clutching her happy filly. She had been under the impression Dove was the first such filly born.

"It happened two hundred years ago as I just said," Sunset answered her. "All the tribes' DNA types are floating around in your blood. You have earth ponies and pegasi in your ancestry somewhere if you go back far enough, and even the proto-pony tribes as well. You just have much more thestral, crystal pony, and unicorn ancestry when living in Ocid. It is still possible for those old recessive genes to pop up from time to time in the population, even if this is only the second time since we went under the Dome that it has occurred."

"What happened to him?" Midnight asked quietly.

"He was made to breed till the day he died. That stallion went out with a heart attack while screwing. We put him with every female we possibly could. Never got a single pregnant mare out of him, he was completely sterile," Sunset said with a laugh. "I suppose there are worse ways to die. I feel sorry for the poor mare that he collapsed dead on still."

"Do you think there is any possibility that Dove is sterile too?" Midnight asked. It had never even been a possibility in her mind that her daughter couldn't produce foals someday.

"Not something we need to concern ourselves with at this time," Water Shadow interjected. "Let's just keep focused on trying to get her to where she can reach an age where that can can be something we can be concerned about, because right now we haven't figured out how to get her past twelve yet. We are improving over what we were early today when we weren't sure we were going to get her to one year old alive."

"I really do want to thank you both for doing this for her," Midnight said, tears in her eyes. "I know this is a big sacrifice on your part. I don't know how I will ever repay your kindness."

"I am sad to admit I have ulterior motives, though I do want her to survive for her own sake as well," Sunset admired, looking down at the ground. "The Elder Gods want her dead or in their clutches. While we don't know why yet, I am committed to denying them anything that they want. It isn't the most heroic of reasons, or a reason to be proud of, but it is important to do whatever we can to resist them. I have lost too many dear friends over the years to the Elder Gods and their minions. Pinkie Pie lost to madness joined them, all the other Alicorns, the immortals other than Peridot, ponies I thought would always be there, ponies that were my family. I will stand defiant against the Elder Gods in any possible way that I can now."

"I have my own reasons," Water Shadow added in her own quiet voice, a sound like she was holding back tears in her voice. "You saw the monument outside? A foal being murdered is something I can't stand to happen. There have been many mothers over the countless centuries I have been alive that have lost foals far too early, but it is something I cannot and will not just let happen if I can stop it."

"I feel kind of like Water Shadow," Sweet Pea finally spoke up, holding a foreleg over the area that was still a bit flabby from her last foal. "What the Ponymother wanted to do was just beyond wrong. Everything about Ocid is wrong, but it could be endured. I can't endure knowing that kind of thing was happening. A pony needs to be able to say enough is enough at some point. Saying foals are to be sacrificed to that monster is a line that I will not cross and will do my best to stand in the way of anyone that tries to cross it. I also have my own foal to worry they might do that to someday as well, if they are starting to do such things now."

"Well, thank you all still," Midnight said, tearing up. It was disappointing though that her mistr--Sunset was using Dove as some sort of pawn in a fight, but it wasn't one she could blame her for doing, and Sunset did care about Dove still. Sunset wasn't the one that had made Dove the pawn, that was the Elder Gods. She wished she knew why, but it just reconfirmed to her filly was special; a feeling all mothers might have, but one that she had good reason for.

"It is time to focus on our own survival here for the time being," Sunset declared, taking charge of the situation. "We will find somewhere to set up a camp and then Water Shadow and I will take turns surveying the area. Keep your weapons ready still, there may be dangerous wildlife about. Focus is on shelter, food, and water for the time being. I want us well away from our entry point just in case the necromancer figures out some way of getting something through to us."

Midnight's considered what they needed to be doing. Food was probably the biggest concern, Midnight thought. She knew nothing about what plants were edible. She was still feeding Dove with her udders, but that was only good as long as she herself was getting fed, and that feeding method would need to come to an end in a few months anyway. She didn't actually have any idea how to prepare food, she had spent her whole life eating meal bars. She wondered if she would need to eat meat too as a result since her digestive system was so used to it. That meant hunting, which could be dangerous. Hopefully the Alicorns could provide.

This made her feel rather useless. She could properly use a gun to hunt, she had no clue what plants to eat, she didn't know anything about building a shelter, and her surroundings were so different than anything she had ever known. She might as well be a helpless foal herself for all the good she could accomplish. Sweet Pea at least seemed to know how to fire her weapon accurately. Midnight was best just donating her weapon to her friend, at least then it would serve a purpose.

She looked over to her cutie mark again. The little silver hearts were an enigma, and she wished she knew what they meant. It seemed almost worse having a cutie mark and not knowing what it was for than not knowing if you had a cutie mark at all. Chances were it was for something that wouldn't even be useful in this situation. She couldn't imagine it having to do with any of the things that they needed to be concerning themselves with now. Again, Sweet Pea was more useful than her, they had a foal to deal with and another on the way, and her friend's skills would be important with those.

"You look upset," Sunset said to her. The alicorn had come up to stand beside her. "I know that being in a totally new place can feel overwhelming, but I can tell you that it is something we can manage."

"Just feeling kind of useless," Midnight answered. Emotion was still boiling up and she now felt like crying. She was supposed to be responsible for Dove, but she had no idea what to do.

"I am sure we will have need of you, you're a Thestral, and when push comes to shove your instincts will kick in and help you. If danger comes there are no other pony races that can stand up to a fierce protective Thestral mother," Sunset said in a soothing voice.

"I don't feel particularly fierce," Midnight replied as her ears drooped down.

"You should have seen yourself when I first told you that they were intending to take Dove away. I wasn't sure if you were going to bite me right then. You may not be feeling it right now, but you are more than capable of protecting your filly here. I can't imagine any beast that will get near her," Sunset laughed. "Pick yourself up, and keep alert for danger. It is time to find somewhere to go make a camp that we can set up some sort of shelter in."

And so they all moved together away from the cliffs into the woods. The trees all had extremely thick, spiny looking bark on them, with large leaves as long as a pony's leg. From time to time Midnight would spot some odd looking fruits growing on trees, or some flowers blooming in the trees or on the ground. There was just so much color everywhere.

A strange sound caught her ears. Both she and Sweet Pea stopped walking and started looking around anxiously to try to find the source of the strange sound. The two Alicorns paused as well and looked at Midnight and Sweet Pea with amusement, but didn't say anything.

Eventually Midnight spotted the source of the sound. Nestled in one of the trees nearby was a collection of dried up grass that had been gathered together. She flew up to look closer, and in that mass of dried brown grass was a very small, very helpless little bird. She had never seen one in real life. There were pictures, videos, and descriptions in the computer, but those weren't the real thing. She had always wanted to see one, she had even named her daughter after a type of those long gone creatures after seeing her wings. Now she was seeing one in person, and it was amazing.

"What is it Midnight?" Sweet Pea called up to her, unable to see much more than the dried grass from her position on the ground.

"It's a bird, a real live bird!" Midnight called back down to her friend. She didn't know why she was so giddy about seeing one. It was like old things come again.

"A what? Um, Midnight.. your cutie mark is glowing," Sweet Pea called back up.

Midnight turned her head to look. Yes, it was glowing brightly. She stared at it in fascination for a moment. She was so entranced in seeing the phenomenon that she had to stop staring as she nearly dropped out of her hover because she forgot my to keep flapping her wings. She immediately double checked Dove to make sure the filly hadn't gotten loose from her saddle bag during the brief jerk in the air. After assuring herself that her daughter was still secure she looked back at her cutie mark only to find it had ceased its glow.

"It makes me happy too that there are birds here, but we need to get back to finding a good place to camp," Sunset called over to them.

Still unable to break away from her own training that demanded unquestioned obedience to her alicorn, Midnight brought herself back to the ground. She gave her flank another glance with her ears lowered. Was Sunset not going to explain to her what had just happened? The alicorn had to have seen it happen. Were cutie marks supposed to do that? She had never seen that happen to Sunset, Water Shadow, or Peridot. Nor had she seen it happen to any of the fillies or colts from back when she was living at Foal Services. Maybe it was normal and it just wasn't something that any pony ever noticed because they were always wearing their suits.

Sunset was right, they needed to find somewhere to set up camp and get far away from the cliff they came into this world from. She vowed to herself that as soon as they found somewhere to make camp that she would ask Sunset about the glowing cutie mark.

Memory was a strange thing. As an immortal it was stranger still to Peridot. Peridot knew she was having a dream, but this was more than a dream, this was a memory, and she was just helplessly watching it play out.

She was again near the borders of Tambelon, over a thousand years ago, and there were undead swarming them from all directions. Sunset and Water Shadow were blasting away huge amounts of undead in single blasts. They were much more powerful back then, as Harmony had not yet fallen, but all that power mattered little in the realm of Tambelon.

The rest of their party was just running along trying to keep up as they all ran for the border of Grogar's realm. Cozy Care was flying close to them, trying hard not to go faster than them, if she went to far ahead she would be caught in the swarms of undead. Peridot herself was running as hard as she could, she had fought hard in the close confines of the city itself where the creatures were bottle-necked in attacking them, but here in the open she was helpless. Hot Sticks ran in terror close by her. Icy Moon ran while endlessly ringing that infernal bell with her magic.

The bell itself was what was pulling the undead down on them. The ringing was drawing them from everywhere. Peridot had not understood back then exactly what that bell was. She had only understood that it was what was drawing the undead to them in unimaginable numbers.

"Please, stop ringing the bell! This is madness," Peridot in her memory yelled.

"Don't stop ringing the bell no matter what!" Sunset yelled back, not pausing in her attacks on the undead, and with the comatose body of Pearlwort on her back. "That was my order when we came here and that is my order still. We are almost to the border of the Lost Lands and it will be safe to stop then, but our lives depend on that bell ringing till we reach the border."

"Whatever that bell is keeping at bay can't possibly be worse than this," Peridot's past self replied. Oh how wrong she had been. She wanted to scream at her past self for saying such a thing, but in the present she was just a helpless observer watching this tragedy play itself out. She didn't want to remember this.

"You have no idea how much worse Grogar is than this. Keeping ringing that bell like your life depends on it Icy, because it very much does," Sunset snapped back.

So they kept as they had been. The undead kept appearing as fast as they were cut down. They would start rising up from the very ground that they were running over, and more than once Peridot had to cut her way through some newly risen undead that had pulled itself out of the ground in the midst of them. The Alicorns were clearing a path but that path was sealing almost as quickly as it was made. Peridot was sure they were all going to die here. It turned out they would survive this day, most of them anyway.

There was no way of telling how long they kept in like this. The constant assault made time seem to flow both more quickly and in slow motion at the same time. This was the most frenzied combat she had ever seen.

This wasn't her first combat action, she had seen a lot of action against the strange creatures that had once been ponies back home. There were always more emerging from those damned cocoons. But they had Pearl now, and they would find a way to make everything alright. They would stop the affliction, which then would stop there from being new monsters. They would also make things right with Peridot's sister, who thought Pearl dead, and had become increasingly unstable in her rage. Everything would be alright soon she had thought back then, just as long as they made it out of Tambelon alive.

Then she saw it, the border of Tambelon. It was like a perfectly made line where the heated rocky landscape of Tambelon gave way to the frozen snows of the Lost Lands. They were going to make it. Once they were in the Lost Lands the alicorns would teleport them back to Crystal Heart and work to quickly heal Pearl, and then Pearl would sink her magic into the Heart of the City and purge the affliction. Her sister would come back to her too, and everything would be alright. The nightmare of the last few years would finally be over.

"You can stop ringing that bell now, Icy. We are about to cross over to freedom," she shouted. She picked up her speed and gave a prayer of thanks to Flurry Heart as she felt her hooves come in contact with the snows of the Lost Lands. It was hard to imagine that she would be so glad to set hoof again in those frozen wastes.

The bell stopped ringing, and she had been so glad at that first moment she heard it cease. She glanced backwards towards the land of Tambelon now in the north and that gladness turned to horror. One member of their party had not crossed the border, Icy Moon.

The undead didn't pursue them, they all stood still beyond the border. Icy Moon also stood completely still, but that was because she was trapped back swirling tentacles of dark magic that held her motionless. Peridot could see fear and tears in Icy Moon's eyes as the dark magic gripped her.

Next to her that magic condensed and took shape. Two first eyes formed first, and soon a great demonic goat stood there. It glanced at them briefly, and then down at the line between his realm and the lands that they now stood in. Grogar turned his attention then back to his prisoner and seized the bell from her with his magic, before then clapping it back onto his collar. Icy Moon looked like she was screaming now, but no sound came from her. Then in a final terror filled moment jagged spikes of dark crystal burst from her body in all directions, leaving her impaled many times over.

Grogar laughed then, it was such a bone chilling sound, she would never forget the sound of that goat laughing. Then Icy Moon's eyes shriveled back into her head, leaving a black film of decay in the sockets that once housed them, and her body dropped limply to the ground.

"She should not have stopped ringing that bell," Sunset said quietly. "Her blood is on your hooves, Peridot. If she hadn't listened to you we would still have her with us. I am not going to punish you or have any other Alicorn punish you, but you will remember this. I want you to remember this until your dying day."

Then the two alicorns lit up their horns and teleported them all away. The memory came then to an end, leaving nothing but endless black nothingness.

Peridot knew she was still asleep, and she still wept like a foal in the darkness. Why was she remembering this again now? It had been years since she had thought about this. It still hurt just as much. That had been the first time a pony had died on account of her foolishness. It had not been the last.

"I have often wondered what had occurred that day. Thank you for sharing this with me, Peridot," came a voice that Peridot feared. The Mare of Shadows sat staring at her in the darkness.

"Why did you make me relive that? Do you just enjoy tormenting me?" Peridot accused.

"Hold your accusations, for I made you remember nothing. You were already deep in this memory when I entered into your dream, and I simply watched along with you. I do promise you though, Grogar will get what is coming to him one day. You will be long dead and gone, along with all of Ocid, but I will give you vengeance on him along with my own," the necromancer answered her.

"I thought everything would be better if we succeeded in that rescue," Peridot said quietly, her face and ears lowered, her posture defeated.

"Sometimes nothing you do can make things right. I can empathize with you though, little pony. I too seek to just make up for what once went wrong. It unfortunately has a high price to make happen, all your lives will be forfeit. I will see to it that I make things right though," the Mare of Shadows said darkly.

"And what possibly could be so important to make right that every pony must die? That is not making things right," Peridot demanded.

"That is none of your concern. Just know I do empathize with you. For now we have other matters to discuss. Matters far more pertinent to your current survival, and your precious Ocid's survival, and what costs you will pay for that," the demon replied.

Peridot kept hanging her head. It seemed there was going to be a chance that they were going to be given an opportunity to survive still, but she knew at this point she was effectively a slave to whatever the necromancer demanded. She hoped that ponies, both alive and long dead, would forgive her for it.

Night Mist missed not feeling anything below her neck, she actually felt mildly cheated that she wasn't dead. Perhaps it would be better if she were in her current state. She wasn't in pain, but everything felt weird.

"Are you okay, Mom?" Cotton Tail asked her.

That was a loaded question she didn't know how to answer.

She chose not to answer and instead brought herself to her hooves. One of those hooves didn't feel right at all. She could feel sensation through it, but it was muted sensation. She flexed her wings and felt much the same thing. She could feel them, but not the same way she had before. These weren't even her wings, they were something else, something that didn't belong on her.

She turned her head around to look at her flank, trying to ignore all the bits of things that weren't originally part of her before. On her flank sat the same cutie mark that she had before her magic had been drained, though it looked now a bit distorted. She could feel her natural pony magic flowing through her body again, and was glad that it at least was still somewhat the same as it had been before.

She couldn't help shivering as she saw all the things that weren't as they were before. What was she now? What had Moon Fury.. Discord.. done to her? She supposed she should be happy to be alive, but this all felt so very wrong.

She looked around her surroundings, the self proclaimed Spirit of Chaos said he would be back, but took off soon after rescuing her and doing this to her. She didn't even know how to begin to describe her surroundings, but they felt far less strange than she now felt. She would need to have a very long talk about this whenever he decided to return.

"I'm alive, which is more than I expected. I am still trying to adjust to this though. So much of my body is not mine. I know I couldn't have survived with all that I had lost, but I don't know if I am grateful or not yet. Just let me adjust. I am still processing this," she told her son.

She was still trying to shake the shock of everything that had happened out of her thoughts. There seemed like there should be many other things she should be concerned with right now. Where was she? What was Cotton Tail doing here? Had Moon Fury truly been that thing this whole time without her knowing? What was Moon Fury anyway? These questions should be answered, but at the moment the question the she couldn't get out off her head was not letting anything else come into focus. What was she?

She took her still flesh forehoof and touched it to one of the many metallic spots that now covered her body. She was a thing of flesh and metal. Wherever her flesh had been stripped away or body part destroyed there was now metal. None of it seemed to be mechanical or electronic in any way, these were not any sort of prosthesis. Her flesh and the metal fused together seamlessly and she could feel her natural magic coursing through the metal. Not only the magic, but she could feel touch on the metal, like a slightly numbed limb. It was all flexible, but clearly metallic, and extremely tough.

She looked at her wings. She had lost her old wings and now stared at these silvery things. They didn't look much like her old wings, but they responded just like the old ones. She wondered if they worked.

With a few quick flaps of them she brought herself into a hover as easily as she ever could. It felt a little strange, but the magic that let her get airborne had the same feel as it ever did. Wings were just a conduit for that magic, and these new ones conducted that magic as easily as the old ones had done before. Did this mean she was still a thestral? Could she be a thestral and still have a body like this?

One thing was for sure. She had been given a reprieve from her fate, and she didn't want to waste it. She would see to it the Bakery was put to an end. She didn't know how yet, and she didn't know what to do yet about seeing to it ponies were fed, but she knew she wanted it destroyed. Peridot's whole damn system was evil and they needed to find another way. The desire for rebellion had been rising in her since her capture, and it still blazed strong now.

Once Moon Fury set her free to return to Ocid she had work to do. Ocid would not continue as it had been. She would make sure of it.

Author's Notes:

Not feeling 100% or even 50% today, but getting this update out on time.

Chapter 9: Growth and Development

Midnight kept a watchful eye on her filly as Dove cautiously crept up on the snail. The little filly was carefully watching the little thing with great fascination, almost crawling along the ground to keep her eyes close to it. Her wings were held high in excitement as she crept along after the creature. Midnight couldn't help by smile at how cute Dove looked right now.

Midnight was also trying to keep a lookout at the surroundings for snakes. When they had first arrived here they were told by Shadow that there were snakes here in the past. There definitely were still snakes, only now the things had wings and could fly. The first time they had accidentally disturbed one of the snake nests had been a shock.

Drinking greedily from Midnight's udders was Sweet Pea's thestral colt, Quiet Word. The little colt was well named, as he barely ever made a peep. He would on occasion give out a little cry for Sweet Pea if he was in a clingy mood, and he clearly understood a few words, but they hadn't gotten him to say his first word yet.

Their camp was set up in a little clearing near a river and a small set of cliffs. A waterfall went over the cliff and fed the river. The river itself wasn't very deep, though it was too deep to let the foals get near for fear that they might fall in and get hurt. The camp itself had a few small shelters made of wood and leaves, a large communal fire pit, and the beginnings of a garden which would hopefully soon start producing food so they didn't have to go scavenging as much out in the woods.

On the far side of the camp there was a small area that was reserved for Sweet Pea to practice magic. The unicorn was over there now doing just that under Sunset's supervision. The unicorn was worked hard by the alicorns, who wanted her to be capable of performing spells to help defend herself along with the rest of them. They would have her do concentrated destructive blasts of magic, try to put up magic shields, and now were adding short range teleportation to the list. Sweet Pea was of course still learning, and keeping her at a distance from the foals as she practiced was an understandable safety concern.

Midnight and Sweet Pea took turns nursing Quiet Word. About the same time Dove had gotten to where she didn't need to be nursed on udders Quiet Word had been born. The two friends agreed to split the time nursing so they would each have time to work on other things. The little colt wouldn't need nursing too much longer as his fangs were just starting to come in; which had been a somewhat painful discovery for Midnight recently.

It was hard to say how old either of the two foals were now; tracking time in this world was exceedingly difficult.Their development was all they had to go by, and Midnight depended on Sweet Pea to give her an idea of where they were in that respect. Sweet Pea said Quiet Word was about under one year old, and Dove just over two. In their homeworld it would still be morning of the same day they left it, but that wasn't how time flowed here. The fact that the sun never set and night never came made it impossible to track days, weeks, or anything else involving time. They slept when they were tired and there was no telling if they slept once a day, multiple times a day, or sleepless for days. She supposed she could count the seconds, but that wasn't really a feasible thing to do.

Time was clearly passing though. Dove walked on her own most of the time now, though Midnight would put the little filly on her back from time to time. Her daughter now had a growing vocabulary, and could form very short sentences. Dove was quick to tell her about things she was looking at, and would excitedly beg her for stories from time to time.

She smiled as she thought about what story to tell Dove next. Sometimes when Midnight told stories her cutie mark would sometimes light up, which would delight her daughter each time. This was actually happening with increasing frequency. Midnight had figured out the meaning of her mark by this point; she kept alive the memory of the past, and when she got caught up with a lot of emotion when dealing with things of old her mark would light up. It wasn't some grand talent, but it was who she was, and she received joy from it.

Dove finally had worked up the courage to try to touch the snail. When the filly lightly touched her hoof on the snail's shell the little creature pulled itself into its shell. This caused the her to bring her muzzle close enough that it was almost touching the snail as she tried to see where it had gone. She then tried tapping it a few more times with a hoof.

"Dove, don't do that to it. How would you feel if something giant started banging on our roof? You wouldn't like it would you?" Midnight said to her daughter with a smile.

"Bug is hiding, Mommy!" Dove announced loudly.

"It's not a bug, it's a snail, and that shell is like its home. Be nice to the little snail," Midnight replied.

"Snail? Why it do that?" Dove said with her head tilted in thought as she processed this new information.

"That's just the way they are, sweetie. They just carry their home around with them. Sometimes you can find shells that snails have stopped using. I think snail shells are very pretty to look at," She explained. She honestly didn't know much about snails herself, but she wanted to instill in her daughter a respect for other living creatures, even if that respect had to be put at odds with the ones Midnight had to hunt for food.

"Pretty shell," Dove said with wonder as if just noticing it as she went back to carefully observing the snail.

Midnight noticed her own stomach rumbling. She would need to track down some food soon. The river provided a nice little hunting ground for her. She needed some meat in her diet to keep completely healthy, as would Quiet Word when he got bigger. A thousand years ago thestrals could have subsided on just vegetation if need be as omnivores, but centuries of subsiding on primarily meat had as a result changed them, and now thestrals were now primarily carnivorous in nature. She had tried eating just fruit and other vegetation at first when getting here, but after her getting sick consistently the group had learned of the change. The others in the party weren't thestrals, and though the physiology of crystal ponies and unicorns had changed too over those centuries, so they were much more omnivorous than herbivore, they could still do without meat if need be.

A bright flash happened right next to her just then, causing her to jump in shock. Then she yelped in pain as the Quiet Word bit down hard on her when she startled him. She bolted into the air on pure instinct, and the poor little colt fell down on his rear on the ground below. He did let off a quick startled cry, but didn't make any further noise. He did seem to be shedding some tears though. Midnight felt guilty as she looked down at him.

Sweet Pea quickly gathered her son up in her magic and nuzzled him to sooth him.

"I'm sorry, little one. I startled your aunt and she startled you. I didn't mean to have that all happen. It will be okay, your alright. I didn't mean it and she didn't mean it," Sweet Pea said soothingly to him. The little colt cuddled into her mane.

"What was that?" Midnight asked after her heart stopped pounding hard.

"Oh! I actually did it, Midnight, I teleported!" Sweet Pea shouted excitedly. "I can't believe I actually managed to do it. I've been trying, and failing, for a while now, and was about to tell Sunset and Shadow that I just wasn't going to be able to do it, but I actually did it. I am so excited! It is like I have more power to draw on than before. I don't understand it, but I am doing things I didn't think possible."

"Well, I'm happy for you," Midnight said with a smile, then lowered herself back down to the ground. "Next time a little more warning though, please. Especially when I am feeding your little piranha."

Sweet Pea took on a thoughtful expression as she nuzzled her looked over her son.

"Maybe it's time we started him on some solid food. He is going to get to where he can accidentally hurt one of us before too long with his fangs coming in. Really hurt, not just what we have gotten so far. thestral foals typically don't get nursed much longer than a year or they end up taking a bite out of the wet nurse," Sweet Pea said as she hugged her now content foal. Quiet Word was an easy enough foal to please, nuzzle him, hug him, let him eat, and he would quickly get happy. Dove was easily to please too; she was just louder, and more rambunctious, in showing her pleasure.

"Well, if you are done with your magic for right now I can see about finding something for me to eat and I'll share what I find with him so we can see how he does with it," Midnight said.

"Maybe you could find enough for me too? I'd like to eat along with him, to show him how. You don't have to spend extra time trying to find enough if it is too much trouble. I still have plenty of those melons we found the other day I can eat still. I just want him to see me eating the same things when trying to start him off," Sweet Pea requested. The unicorn then floated her colt up on her back and he quickly curled up there. He would likely fall asleep within a moment or two.

"I'll see what I can do, no promises though," Midnight said as she lifted herself back into the air.

"Mommy don't go!" Dove cried out as Midnight made to leave.

"Mommy needs to hunt, Dove. You don't want mommy to be hungry do you?" Midnight said her her filly.

"Take me with!" Dove insisted, stomping her hoof.

"No, that is too dangerous. I don't want you getting hurt. Maybe when your bigger, but you don't really need to ever hunt. Just be good for your auntie Sweet Pea and I will tell you a story when I get back," Midnight bargained.

"Promise story?" Dove said with a tilt of her head.

"Yes, as long as you are good for Sweet Pea," Midnight assured her daughter.

"Okay, I be good for Auntie Sweepy," Dove replied. Midnight covered her muzzle to hide a smile at her daughter's continued butchering of Sweet Pea's name. That was a longer sentence for Dove, seven words. Before long her filly would likely be a regular little chatterbox at this rate.

"There were some pygmy pigs about ten furlongs out in that direction last time I flew over," Sunset called over to Midnight while pointing a hoof off to the south. "I think they are about the right size you can carry back a carcass. I am sure that one would make a decent few meals or a larger meal for several ponies. Would be an upgrade from your normal birds, snakes, fish, and crustaceans that you typically go after."

"I don't know," Midnight replied uncertainly. "That's much bigger than I typically hunt. And aside from the snakes, most of the things I go after can't really fight back."

"I am confident you can deal with a pig. It is in your blood to deal with things much larger and much more dangerous than that. Just let your instincts take hold and it will be no problem," Sunset assured her.

"I'll see what happens. If it seems like it is more trouble than it is worth I am going to just try to catch some fish down river though," Midnight said. The idea of trying to take on and slay a pig made her more than a little uneasy, but it was true that she would need to start getting more meat per hunt if she was going to feed Quiet Word as well until he could hunt for himself. She supposed one of the others could hunt too, but it really was strongly against their natures. Sweet Pea had tried hunting once and even to Midnight it was laughable how clumsy a hunter her friend was than Midnight had started out as. This was just part of being a thestral.

Midnight took to the air and headed in the direction Sunset had indicated. She took a quick glance around to see if she could see Water Shadow anywhere in the distance. The blue alicorn had been out scouting and looking for seeds for their garden. Midnight saw no sign of her though, not that she had expected too. The alicorns went out much further than she or Sweet Pea ventured. Midnight had gotten much better at flying over time in this place, but she was still not up to such ling distance flights. The alicorns reported signs of vast forests, jungles, deserts, and mountains. The land they were in was vast, larger than their world back home. There was never any sign of civilization, but there was an unending amount of flora and fauna.

When she reached about the correct distance for where Sunset had spotted the pigs she dropped down below the canopy of trees to get a better look around. Landing on a tree branch, the first thing she did was scan around the branch for any snake nests. She had no intention of accidentally stepping into one. The snakes' venom wasn't fatal to a pony, but it had a strong paralysis effect. If she took a bite from a full grown snake she would fall down onto the forest floor and have to pay there helpless until one of the alicorns found her or the venom wore off. The newly hatched ones in the nests were not a concern, as their venom was too weak to even impact the foals, but where there was a nest there was a full grown mother close by. Midnight could deal with a snake if she was aware of it, but that was only if she took the time to be aware of her surroundings.

After a brief scan around the branch and surrounding ones she was satisfied that their were no snake nests, just a few birds. She therefore turned her attention to the forest floor to find sign of the pigs. After a minute or two of glancing around she thought she spotted cloven hoof tracks, indicating they were close by and had been here very recently.

She glided down to the underbrush and examined the tracks. She could see the direction they seemed to move towards and she quickly made her way after them. Within a minute or two she picked up the scent of them and her instincts began to take hold. She offered up no resistance to their compulsion as instinct likely was more effective here than her trying to think things through. She could easily over think this and fail as a result.

She got back into the branches and began rapidly gliding from branch to branch in pursuit of her prey. There was little to no sound as she moved, her thestral magic which was now flowing freely masked it and made it so her movements barely disturbed the branches. She was moving too quickly to be beset upon by any snakes unless she landed directly on one. Snakes were the primary predator in this world up to now, at least by daylight, but she was something fiercer. She knew it in her core that she was the alpha predator in the local food chain, and nothing would dare try to attack her deliberately.

Midnight came to a halt as she spotted the pigs down below. There were about half a dozen of them, all munching on a patch of mushrooms that they had found in this area. She bared her fangs as she looked them over to determine the best target. The largest were about the size of a younger teen pony, but the majority were about twice the size of Dove or smaller. The larger ones were likely too big for her to properly carry back home, but the majority were of ideal size for her to lift, even if the weight would slow her down.

There was one of appropriate size that was near the middle of the group. Midnight didn't think she could miss her pounce, but if she did it was well removed from having anywhere it could run and cause her difficulty in pursuing. The rest would likely scatter when she came down on the one, and the larger ones that could put up some sort of fight were near the outside of the group well away from it. It seemed to be a defensive tactic placing themselves this way, but she was fairly sure that when the rest scattered the large ones would move with the majority rather than try to come to her target's rescue. She wasn't sure how she knew this, but her instincts told her this is what would most likely happen. She trusted those instincts.

She waited another moment or two to judge her pounce and make sure she had a clear shot. Then she zoomed down from her hiding spot above and landed on the defenseless pig. In another instant she sank her fangs deep into the pig's neck, and with a quick jerk of her neck snapped her victim's neck.

The rest of the pigs fled as she had anticipated. She bent her head down and put her fangs into her already prone prey's throat and ripped it out in a spray of gore. Blood splattered all over her face and the ground. In a few quick seconds life vanished from the pig. This had been quick and easy. There had been no reason to doubt herself.

She licked the blood off her muzzle near her mouth, and resisted the urge to feed right this moment on her kill. It had taken her several times hunting to learn how to get her instincts back in check afterwords. It was still a small struggle. There was something primal that drive her to try to feed right away, but she was no animal. Animals were slaves to their instincts, she made her instincts work for her, but she would not be a slave to them. This pig wasn't just for her, this pig was for her herd.

She bent down and lifted the body onto her back. Blood poured off the pig and got all into her fur, making her even more a bloody mess. It likely made her look fairly terrifying, and she was glad she didn't have a mirror to show her reflection or she would likely scare herself. She would need to go downstream at the river once she had returned this to camp to wash it all off. It was best not to get blood into the water near the camp. They needed to drink from that water, and washing in that part of the river or defecating near it just wasn't healthy for any pony.

Once she was certain the body was positioned so it wouldn't fall off when she took to the air she launched herself back into the sky above the canopy, and made her way slowly back to camp.

As she flew she considered herself lucky that there weren't any large predators other than her in the area. The pig was still dripping blood, and she was making a trail that could be tracked all the way back to the camp. In the future she would need to figure out some way of of making sure that didn't happen. Just because there wasn't any threatening predator in the area currently didn't mean something couldn't end up migrating their way, this world was still an alien one to them.

After several minutes of slow flight she finally came in for a landing at the camp site. Sunset went out to meet here and quickly removed the pig from her back so the alicorn could prep it to be cooked.

"Any problems at all?" Sunset asked her, as the alicorn floated the pig into her dwelling so the preparation could be done out of sight.

"No, no problems at all. It seemed really easy actually. I just let my instincts take hold and it all went smoothly," Midnight replied.

"Mommy? You hurt?" Came the trembling voice of Dove from behind her.

Midnight looked back at her little filly and her heart lurched. Dove was looking at her terrified. Dove must have seen all the blood and thought it meant that Midnight had hurt herself. The mother considered how to best deal with this in a way that her filly could understand. She wasn't sure she could explain hunting properly to Dove yet. The filly never saw blood like this when Midnight came back with her typical smaller kills, and may not understand what those were.

"Mommy is okay, sweetie," Midnight began. "It is just like when you got covered in juice from that melon the other day."

"Just juice?" Dove said with uncertainty still in her voice.

"Close enough to juice," Midnight answered, not willing to tell her daughter it was blood, but not wanting to completely lie to her either. She looked over to Sweet Pea for help.

"Come on over back to your auntie, Dove. Your mommy needs to go take a bath, and when she comes back you'll see she is perfectly fine. Do you want to help me sing a lullaby to Quiet here?" Sweet Pea offered up for a distraction. "I can teach you all the words. It will make him happy to hear you sing to him."

Dove seemed to take interest in the idea of learning how to sing a lullaby. Midnight gave Sweet Pea a grateful smile for dealing with the situation for the moment. The time would come she would have to explain this kind of thing to Dove, but she really didn't want it to be now. Sweet Pea took Dove away to another one of the little shelters, and within a moment her voice could be heard singing the timeless Hush Now Quiet Now song.

"You could have just explained it to her. Foals are really accepting of what their parents tell them at that age. I am sure she wouldn't be that upset," Sunset said to her.

"I just feel like I would be destroying her innocence or seeming like a monster to her if she knew I killed for food," Midnight replied with a sigh. "I don't even really like the idea I need to do it. Back in Ocid we all knew where the meal bars came from, but we could feel detached from it since we never saw it happening. It was like it felt more okay because it wasn't me actively killing any pony. But now I am actively killing. It might not be ponies, but it is still killing. I am torn between being proud that I can hunt, and feeling like a monster."

"You aren't the only thestral to ever feel this way. I dealt with one before that felt this way too. She eventually got over it, and accepted that this was part of what she was, and there wasn't anything wrong with doing what she needed to do. You'll feel more comfortable with it in time," Sunset said.

"I just feel so torn. I feel proud that I can do it, but then feel guilty that I am proud of it," Midnight said with lowered ears.

"Did you feel guilty when you killed that snake that got too close to Dove not long ago?" Sunset asked.

Midnight's fur fluffed slightly at the memory, her protective instincts resurfacing again at the memory of it. It hadn't been that long ago when one if those things had come flying at Dove. Midnight had immediately sprung into action without even thinking and slain the thing in midair. The venom from a full grown snake might do more than just temporarily paralyze her daughter at her age and size.

"No, not a shred of guilt about that. Nothing is going to hurt Dove, nothing," Midnight said darkly.

"Well, if you don't hunt then she won't have her mother or Quiet Word because you two will starve. You are protecting her indirectly by providing for yourself. Try to think of it that way if it helps," Sunset explained.

"I'll try to do that. This just isn't the life I was raised to lead. I am still trying to get used to it," Midnight said. She then looked herself over again and scrunched up her muzzle. "I need to go get washed and get back. I promised Dove a story, and don't want to keep her waiting too long. Please cook that pig up quickly. I really am hungry."

"I will go do that right now. Go get yourself cleaned up," Sunset said as she walked back to her shelter.

Midnight gave a brief glance over to where she could hear her daughter singing Hush Now Quiet Now and smiled. Then she lifted herself into the air and made her way down river to get herself cleaned up.

[

Sunset lay on top of the overlooking cliff listen as Midnight recited a story to Dove and Sweet Pea. Sweet Pea was carefully breaking up little bites of roasted pig and feeding Quiet Word. Dove sat enraptured in her mother's story, barely eating her own food, though she did take bites whenever her mother took time for dramatic pauses. Sunset had to admit Midnight was a gifted storyteller.

She couldn't help frowning though as worries played at her mind. Midnight's cutie mark was glowing again, something it did frequently when recounting some story about the distant past. Telling these stories was as much a treat to Midnight as it was to her audience. Ponies' cutie marks glowing wasn't really an uncommon occurrence. What was unusual was the frequency of how often Midnight's did.

"Something bothering you that is causing you to brood up here?" She heard Water Shadow say from behind her. A moment later the blue alicorn walked up beside her and laid down on the cliff edge as well.

"I am coming to realize some things about the nature of this place," Sunset answered her.

"And what might that be?" Water Shadow asked, now watching the ponies down below as well.

"Can't you feel it? Our power is growing again. We aren't back to what we were when Harmony still stood, but right now we possess more power than we ever did in Ocid. I am sure there are many things I could do now that I haven't been able to do in centuries," Sunset said.

"I had noticed, but wasn't sure if it was a trick of my imagination up till now," Water Shadow answered.

"It isn't just us though," Sunset continued. "Their magic is growing stronger as well. Sweet Pea's power reserves were well below average when she got here; I tested her so I know. Now she is functioning at an average to slightly above average level. That isn't just practice, her wellspring is bigger. Midnight's cutie mark is lighting up more and more frequently when she does things that embrace its meaning. That typically should only happen when a pony does something exceptional in regard to their purpose, not like this."

"The matter of her glowing mark is definitely something I have noted, it is kind of impossible to miss. Though I hadn't realized Sweet Pea was growing in magical strength as well. I really had just considered that progress based on practice," Water Shadow said as she looked more carefully down at the two mares in question.

"And are you listening to what story Midnight is telling right now?" Sunset said with a fluff if her feathers.

Water Shadow seemed to listen carefully for a moment and developed a slightly confused look on her face.

"The old tale of Hearth's Warming Eve. The one we were told in our youths, not the more modern one that has no resemblance. That is indeed an old story which is well in line with Midnight's values," Water Shadow said approvingly.

"It definitely is, but that isn't the problem," Sunset said. "That story isn't in any of the databases in Ocid, nor did I ever tell her that story. Did you ever tell her that story?"

"You can already guess I didn't. So how did she learn it?" Water Shadow said now concerned.

"I think it is her cutie mark. She is just getting so much power here that she is literally able to tell about things from the distant past she never even learned," Sunset answered. It was an impossibility but her ears were giving her too much evidence that it was exactly what was happening.

"It might be pulling the information from us. Now that I am listening closely I can tell she is telling that story pretty close to word for word as I was told it. I know that is just a highly filtered version of the story that glosses over a lot of details. It isn't just coming from nowhere, but it is still very remarkable," Water Shadow said with awe. Shadow looked at Sunset with a perplexed expression. "Where do you think all this power is coming from here? What is making us stronger?"

Sunset looked up at the sun. That same sun that kept dark magic away, and somehow didn't hurt any of the eyes of the ponies below when they looked straight at it. A sun that behaved in ways that no star should. Water Shadow followed Sunset's gaze and looked back to Sunset curiously.

"You think it some sort of wellspring?" Water Shadow asked.

"No, I think it is more than that. I think it might be this universe's allspark," Sunset replied.

"Um, you will have to give me a better explanation than that. You forget sometimes I am not magically versed as you are. By the time I started caring about performing my duties as an alicorn rather than sailing my ship I had much more pressing matters than learning magical theory," Water Shadow said with a bemused tone.

"Allsparks are kind of like the sources of magic in each universe to put it in the simplest of terms. Wellspring aren't ultimate sources, just high concentrations of magic that can be drawn on," Sunset answered.

She had considered that sun at length and realized it couldn't just be a wellspring. That thing wasn't just radiating magic, it was infusing and enhancing magic. It was a force of creation, which would explain how it was something that was so opposed to dark magic, the antithesis of magic that creates. An allspark was the source of all magic in a universe, every universe had one, and this world was sitting right under the one for this universe. Even the magic that had been altered into dark magic ultimately came from an allspark. Sunset wasn't even completely sure where their own universe's allspark resided, and had only seen one once before, in another universe. For the most part it was only magical theory that they even existed, but one that fit the rules too closely for it to not be so.

"So does this give us any advantages on survival once we leave here?" Water Shadow asked.

"Well, we will obviously be much stronger, which will certainly help. The magic is too raw for us to harass directly, but it will strengthen our own magic the longer we are near it. I am actually mildly concerned about the long term impacts it might have on our friends down below," Sunset said, and she turned her gaze back down to the ponies below.

"What do you mean?" Water Shadow asked.

"They are going to keep absorbing that raw magic from the allspark. How much power will they have absorbed by the time we leave? Ponies aren't meant to have that level of power. Both you and I have had it, and can likely deal with it now, but we both had our struggles in the past. I went temporarily mad when I was first exposed to the power of the Element of Magic. You nearly went mad twice yourself. Looking over others it doesn't take long to realize that is more often the result than anything else. Look at the Time of Madness, look at Pinkie Pie, look at ourselves, look at Biblo, look at Peridot, might as well toss in look at the Mare of Shadows. With the exception of the necromancer, whom we know basically nothing of her past, none of these ponies were bad ponies before they went out and caused havoc. They just couldn't handle that kind of power. Now we have those two mares down there getting slowly charged with more power than they have a right to, and we haven't even considered what impact this is having on the foals yet. I worry that even if we make it out of everything alive we may be unleashing a new evil on the world down the line."

"That is a little dramatic don't you think?" Water Shadow scolded. "Plus that is dependent on us making it through this alive. It seems our only hope is in all of us absorbing that power So we can hopefully defend ourselves versus the necromancer. I am not even sure that we will be able to do that with all the extra power we gain here. She is unbelievably strong, she took down Twilight, Starlight, and Luna when the three of them went up against her together."

"You are right, but I can't help but feel nervous after all the things that have happened in the past. Even if we go by the best success rates with ponies being able to deal with that kind of power that would mean three of the four down there are monsters in the making," Sunset said sadly.

"Perhaps the power will top out well before then. Bring them to their natural peaks rather than pushing beyond those boundaries. There is always a chance too that things will be better this time as we know that many of the previous tragedies were the result of neglect," Water Shadow offered.

Sunset kept watching the younger ponies, not replying to her longtime friend. She loved them all, but she couldn't help worrying still. She hoped this was just paranoia. Their world couldn't stand to have any more monsters. She also couldn't stand to lose any more friends and loved ones to their own madness, and she couldn't bear to be forced to have to end the life of another friend for the good of all.

Chapter 10: Snakes Among Us

"What did you do to my mother!?" Cotton Tail shouted at Discord. The creature had just returned and Cotton Tail had been stewing waiting for answers. He wasn't going to be polite with the creature after seeing the state his mother was in.

"Hello to you too, and still just as polite and thankful as ever I see," Discord responded back with a raised eyebrow, the eyebrow actually seemed to be completely detached from his face.

"What did you do to my mother?" Cotton Tail repeated.

"You seem to have a stutter or something, you already said that. But to answer your question I saved her from being ground up into a paste and repackaged in a chewy snack for little ponies to eat. Again, you're welcome for that, even if there seems to be a distinct lack of gratitude going on here," Discord responded.

"Thank you for saving me," Night Mist said as she walked over to them. "Don't be so rude Cotton, I was in much worse shape earlier today."

"He could have kept you from being in bad shape at all. He saved me with no problems," Cotton Tail snarled. Why couldn't she see that this, Discord, had done this on purpose. It was some sick joke to him.

"I waited till the moment no pony would realize that she had been saved. I gave your mother a great gift, Peridot thinks her dead. You can do a lot when no one knows you are alive and well," Discord said with a laugh.

"You call this well? She is only half pony anymore," Cotton Tail said with a gesture to his mother.

"My son does bring up a point. What am I?" Night Mist asked. She didn't seem particularly upset still, which made Cotton Tail's flesh crawl.

"A pony last I checked, just a little more durable, and a little stronger. Those new parts will be able to take abuse that your old parts would never have been able to endure," Discord answered, pulling one of his eyes from its socket and passing it over Night Mist, before returning it to its home.

"Why should she need to worry about taking even more harm than she already has?" Cotton Tail asked in a tone laced with aggression.

"Hush, Cotton. Let me ask my own questions," his mother snapped at him.

"But.." He began, before his mother cut him off.

"Hush," she said again. Turning to Discord again she asked. "Can you make the rest of me like that? More durable, made of metal, like the new parts?"

"Mom.." Cotton tried to interject.

"I said hush, Cotton, and I meant hush. I do not plan on just sitting on my butt now that I have a new lease on life," Night Mist cut him off. "Fury, can you do it?"

"I prefer things not be all uniform. It is kind of my nature. You will have to work with what you have been given as of right now. I am intrigued to find out what you have brewing in that head of yours. You were never a fighter, but that seems like you are getting ready for one," Discord laughed.

"I want to set Ocid free from Peridot. I can find a better way than what she is doing now. No, I am not a fighter, but being able to deal with ponies shooting at me, or that bitch trying to pound me into submission again seems like it might be important to that end," Night Mist answered.

"Sounds like this is personal," Discord smiled.

"You trying having your life uprooted, your mistress forced into exile, your back broken, and being put through a food processor and tell me how not personal I can take it," Night Mist said darkly. "Peridot is a disgrace, and my mistress should have removed her from power long ago. Sunset isn't here anymore, but I am, and I know Peridot needs to go. I don't know how, yet, but I am going to find a way."

"Sounds like it will be very entertaining. I can't wait to see how it goes," Discord said with a smile.

"Was this your plan, monster? To push my mother over the edge to doing something crazy?" Cotton Tail accused.

"Enough, Cotton!" His mother shouted. "How often have you complained about how things are done in Ocid? How often have you expressed concern I was going to be sent off to the Bakery for being too old? You have been even more against the system than I have been. I never disagreed with you, I was just powerless to do anything about it, and had made my peace with my lot."

"I wanted our mistresses to step up and do something. They had power to do something about it. What has changed for us? We still are just as powerless as we were before. You can't fight all of Ocid," Cotton said. This was madness. Was his mother actually planning on trying to fight? Even if she were a bit more capable of it now she was still no match for Peridot . The Ponymother could likely physically crush his mother, metal flesh or not. That wasn't even counting the fact Peridot had an army at her disposal.

"I don't intend on fighting the way you think. I intend to rally Ocid to take down the current government. There is a lot of unrest, and a lot of ponies that would support us. We are also freed from our suits so we can move about the city without being tracked, if we are careful," Night Mist explained.

"We aren't alicorns, we can't stand up to Peridot or make any lasting changes. There is an army behind Peridot. Even if we got support of a lot of ponies we aren't going to be a match for that," Cotton Tail argued.

"There are likely plenty of soldiers that feel much as we do. I am sure we can get support there as well. Frankly I am surprised there have been no attempts at a military coup before now. My best guess is that they didn't think they were a match for both Peridot and our mistresses," Night Mist said.

"Sunset and Shadow should have gotten those ponies behind them while they were here then. Now it is too late," Cotton Tail grumbled.

"You're right, they aren't going to swoop in and save us now. That is why it falls to us to do something. This can't keep carrying on as it has been, we need to take action," his mother said sternly. "We have an opportunity here. I can't say we will succeed, but we have to try. Ocid may be surviving, but this is not a type of survival that ponies should have to endure. If we can make some difference we should try. Perhaps we don't even need to overthrow Peridot, just force her to change how things are done, make her accept that things have to change."

"You were just saved from the Bakery. This could lead to you getting put to death. Why do you want to do something that can end your life again so soon after getting it spared?" Cotton whispered. He was trying to hold back tears. His mother was right in many ways, but she didn't need to be the one to do this. Hadn't she endured enough?

"My life was going to be forfeit soon enough as things had stood anyway, Cotton. There are countless others who are going to face the Bakery, every pony eventually if nothing is done. My life doesn't matter more than any of their lives. How many other sons and daughters of ponies are dreading their parents being hauled off to the Bakery? How many live in terror of making the finest slip up with their job? How many are worked to death on farms? How many are forced into prostitution? How many have their foals taken from them? Do they matter so much less to you than I do that you don't want to try for them?" Night Mist pressed.

Cotton knew she wasn't going to back down. He thought about suggesting having just himself trying to do something, just so she could be kept safe, but he doubted he would convince her to sit on the side safely while he put himself in danger. He knew he was going to have to agree with her just so he could watch her back, and try to do what he could to protect her.

He glanced over at the spirit of chaos. Discord was sitting on the couch casually eating something and watching. Cotton glared at the strange creature. This was all Discord's fault. The creature didn't even care about their lives, it just wanted amusement. They were all being too boring apparently.

Cotton sighed, he would play Discord's game, if only to try to protect his mother. He just hoped the creature wouldn't twist both his mother and him too much. He feared how much had already been twisted in his mother.

Quiet Word sat staring at the stream. It was nice and peaceful, and he liked looking at the fish swimming in it normally, but not recently. Recently his Aunt Midnight had been trying to teach him how to catch fish to eat. He didn't get bothered by her bringing him fish to eat, but the idea of him catching and killing one upset him enough that it brought him to tears. It might be easy for his aunt to kill a helpless little creature, but he couldn't bring himself to do it.

"Come on Quiet, you aren't going to catch any fish just staring at them," Dove said from beside him. She was a lot bigger than him, not as big as the grown-ups, but big enough to have to have him look up to meet her eyes. His mama said Dove was big for her age, did that mean he was normal or small? He looked at her as she gestured to the water with a wing. She had recently started to develop yellow streaks in her white mane. Dove had panicked about it to her mother when she first noticed them, but was alright with them now. Quiet thought they made her look pretty.

He looked back down at the fish in the stream. Midnight expected him to keep trying on his own while she was out hunting. His mother and the two Alicorns agreed with Midnight, as did Dove. Every pony was going to force him to do this, and it wasn't fair, he didn't want to. Why did he have to do this? Midnight brought home more than enough food.

"Quiet you got to try. Mama said so, and so did your mama and the other grown ups. Just try so we can go do something more fun," Dove pleaded beside him. It wasn't a very good attempt to get him to try. He liked spending time with Dove, but she had very different ideas of fun than him. She liked to race, and she was way faster than him so she always won. She was almost as fast as Midnight when flying, but no where near as fast as the Alicorns. He sometimes wondered if she just wanted to race him because she knew it was the one race she was sure to win.

"I saw a bunch of purple birds that looked weird earlier. I could show them to you if you want. We just got to have you do this first and then we can go look. I know you want to," Dove said, switching tactics.

She knew him well. His ears perked up at the thought of seeing those birds. He hadn't seen purple birds before. Maybe she was just making it up to try to fool him. Dove lied sometimes, and he could never tell when she was telling the truth and when she was lying. He didn't want to miss out if there really were purple birds.

"Really?" He asked her.

"Yes, really. Just do this real fast and we can go see them," Dove answered quickly.

"Not making it up?" He asked again suspiciously. He really hoped she wasn't lying to him again.

"They were not too far down the cliff that way," Dove said with a gesture of a forehoof off in one direction. "I saw them when my mama was trying to get you to do this, before she went off hunting and told me to make sure you tried. Hurry up and we can go look."

"Don't want to," he said and wrapped his wings around to block looking at her.

"Stop being a little brat," Dove scolded, using the dreaded word on him. She then sat on her butt and crossed her forelegs in front of her. "The grownups are having you do a grown up thing, you should be happy. They never let me do any grown up things."

"Then you do it," Quiet said.

"I can't, I don't have teeth like you and Mama. It's unfair, but I don't. I wish I did, so my Mama would spend time teaching me how to do a grown up thing," Dove pouted.

It just occurred to Quiet that Dove was jealous. Midnight spent a lot of time with him trying to teach him about being a thestral. Dove was jealous about it. He guessed he could understand. His own Mama spent a lot of time with the Alicorns instead of with him. She still did spend a lot of time with him, but she couldn't teach him to do the things she could do. He didn't have a horn like her to do magic with, and sometimes he wondered if he would get even more of her time if he was a Unicorn too.

He really should just do it. He should try to act like a big pony. Every other pony was bigger than him, every other pony had a cutie mark, and every other pony was braver than him. The Alicorns barely even paid him attention, they paid attention to Dove. They constantly asked her about what she was thinking about and what she had been doing. All the grown-ups did that with Dove, even his Mama, and they all seemed so interested. His Mama did that with him, but most the other grown-ups didn't. Maybe if he started trying to do grown-up things they would pay attention to him too.

Quiet Word stood to his hooves and got closer to the edge of the water. He leaned in close to the water. If he fell in it wasn't a big deal beyond being embarrassed, he could swim well enough. Dove would laugh at him if he did though.

He felt like he could almost hear the fish in the water. Hear them like hear their voices, not just the sound of swimming. It was probably just his imagination, fish didn't have voices. But the sound was in his mind whenever he got close to any animal, like there was something he just wasn't hearing right. He had asked his mama about it, but she didn't seem to hear it, none of the other ponies did. He was just weird, and heard things that weren't there.

The fish were all small, not as big as the ones Midnight would catch. That was alright, he was small too, and if he tried to catch a bigger fish he likely wouldn't be able to pull it out of the water. They were little silvery slivers going through the water. As he watched them he realized he could tell where they were going to move.

None of them were getting close to the shore though, which meant he was going to have to go out to them. That was going to make this harder, he flew alright, but his hovering in place got really wobbly. It would make getting a good grab with his fangs be a good deal of luck. That might not be really that bad a thing though. He didn't really want to catch a fish, but he had to try.

He flapped his wings, and flew out over the river. A moment after he took off Dove followed, and he could see her shadow in the water from where she hovered above him watching to make sure he was really trying. She didn't need to be so nosy. He was going to give it a real try. He wanted his mama, and Midnight, the rest of them to be proud of him. His not wanting to do this and his want for approval had fought and want of approval had won out. He also really wanted to see those birds and wouldn't give Dove a reason not to show him them.

Quiet carefully tried to lower his muzzle down near the water while still keeping in the air. It wasn't as easy as the grown-ups and Dove made it look. There was a bit of fear that he was going to mess up and go splashing into the river and have Dove laughing at him again, so he took extra time to try to make sure that didn't happen.

He took a quick glance around. He already knew that Dove was watching him from above, but he noticed that his mama and Water Shadow had stopped practicing and were watching him. His mama gave him an encouraging wave and he gulped in response. Knowing that she was watching him made this more important, and the blue alicorn was paying attention to him too. If he messed up then they would be disappointed in him. It was important that he do this right.

He sighed as he looked back down to the water and the fish in it. Again he got the strange feeling he could hear them, but he pushed that thought out of his mind. He couldn't be thinking like that or have would never be able to do this. With a great deal of care and clumsy flapping he got his muzzle down to where it was just submerged in the water with the rest of him still in the air.

The fish didn't seem that disturbed by his muzzle being there. They were still moving in ways he could predict, he just had to wait for the right moment when one got close to try to catch it. He didn't know how long he could keep himself in this position. He was holding his breath, and trying to stay still where he was was making his wings ache. It was alright for now, but he would have to catch a fish soon or come up for air and go land on the shore to rest his wings.

His eyes widened as he realized the moment was about to happen. There was going to be a fish passing right near his muzzle and he all he would need to do was strike quickly. It was only seconds but it felt like it was going on forever and everything was going in slow motion. It was swimming close, and Quiet's muscles were tense.

He moved quickly and struck. Fangs pierced the small fish's flesh. Quiet had done it, he had caught a fish!

No! Pain! Fear!

Quiet jerked in shock as the worlds hit him like a blow. In his shock he tossed the fish away to the shore rather than keep it in his mouth. His mama was cheering, as were Dove and Water Shadow. He felt like he was going to be sick. The fish, it had screamed. He knew that was impossible, bit he was sure of it. When he had not the fish it had screamed in pain and terror.

His mama rushed over and collected up the fish in her magic. She was shouting to him with pride, but he couldn't pay attention to what she was saying. He was shaking with terror at what he had done. The words that had hit him were still echoing in his mind. Why were they all cheering? Hadn't they heard it too? It had been so loud, and so clear.

Quiet's wings chose that moment to give out. His body hit the river with a huge splash. He struggled for just a moment before he was lifted from the water by the familiar magic of his mother. She pulled him over to herself and embraced him in a tight hug.

"It's okay, it's okay. I got you. I know you are a little shaken up, but I am really proud of you," his mama said to him as she hugged and kissed him. He wished this made him feel better, it should make him feel better. This was what he wanted after all. The screams of the fish were too much though. He felt dirty, he felt vile, and he never wanted to do that again. Why couldn't he have been born a Unicorn like his mama? He wouldn't need to do that kind of thing if he were a Unicorn.

"Quiet? What's wrong? You did good, why are you upset? What's wrong with him Aunt Sweet Pea?" Dove started asking, having taken notice of Quiet's condition.

"He is just a little upset. Don't worry, he'll be okay. I think he just needs to do something else for a while. How about you two go play for a bit while I cook his catch. He will feel better when you start playing," Sweet Pea assured Dove. She kept brushing his mane with her hoof and didn't want her to stop. He didn't want to go play, he wanted to go into his home and cry.

"I don't wanna," he complained as he hurried his face in his mama's fur.

"You can't sit here brooding on this, Hun. It is better if you do something to distract yourself. You'll feel better faster that way. To play with Dove and when you come back you'll feel better. I'm proud of you, and you need to be proud of yourself," Sweet Pea said soothingly. She hugged him tightly and kissed him on the head. "I love you so much."

She released him then, and he wanted to cry more because he wasn't in her embrace. Dove was still looking at him with concern.

"We can go see those birds now. I was telling the truth. There are purple birds nesting down the cliff. We can do something else if you want to," Dove said. She sounded worried about him.

"There are really birds?" He asked, trying to hold back his tears still.

"Yes, right down the cliff," Dove said, gesturing the same way she had before. "If you want to see them then come on. I'll show you the birds and you will feel all better."

"Okay," he replied in a low voice. He doubted it would really make him feel better, but he did want to see the birds, and his mama wanted him to go play.

Dove jumped up into the air and flew a little bit away before bringing herself into a hover at the edge of the camp.

"Come on, this way. I won't go too fast so you can keep up. We don't need to race," Dove called over to him.

He gave one more forlorn look at his mama. She just smiled down at him and then bent and gave him another kiss.

"Go on. Go play and when you get back I am sure Midnight will tell you a story. She will be very proud of you just like me, and I am sure she will want to reward you for catching your first fish. I am sure Sunset will want to tell you how proud of you she is too when she gets back. You'll feel better, you'll see," she said to him. He sometimes wondered if his mama had magic mind reading powers. She knew things about him without him telling her. Or maybe that was just a grown-up thing.

He wiped his eyes with a hoof to make sure he wasn't crying one last time before nodding to her. Then he lifted himself back into the air to fly after Dove. His wings didn't ache so much now that he had a few minutes to rest.

Dove smiled at him as he caught up to her. She did a silent gesture for him to follow and started flying slowly along the side of the cliff. She really was being nice to him, because normally she would take off quickly and expect him to try to race after. He wasn't sure he was happy about her feeling bad for him though. It just reminded him that he was small and wimpy.

Quiet flew after her, and tried to just not think about the fish. It was hard though. He never talked a lot, but he did think a lot. Right now he really did want to talk about what he was thinking, but was afraid Dove would call him stupid or silly.

"Dove? Can I ask a question?" He called out to her.

Dove came to a complete halt in her flight. She might have been shocked that he had said something that loud. He never got that loud. He felt embarrassed about getting that loud now, but he really wanted to talk for once.

"Um, sure. What do you want to talk about?" She asked him as he caught up to her. He was glad she didn't mention that he had just yelled to her. It would have killed all his current courage.

"Did you hear anything when I got that fish?" He asked her.

"I heard you scream when you tossed it over to the side of the stream. It was like you never touched a fish before," she said. He looked down in embarrassment and she lowered her ears as he did.

"I hadn't realized I did that, but that isn't what I meant," he said.

"What did you mean then? I heard you scream, I heard the splash from the water, I heard every pony cheering for you. I'm sorry if I made you feel bad by mentioning the scream," Dove said.

"You didn't hear the fish scream?" He asked.

"Um, fish don't scream, that's silly. So I didn't hear any fish scream," Dove said with a raised eyebrow. His ears dropped at her saying that and she looked sad again as she looked at him. "Um, sorry. I didn't mean to call you silly. I'm doing a bad job at trying to make you feel better."

"It's okay, I am just weird," he said.

"You aren't weird! Well..yeah, saying the fish screamed is kinda weird, but if you said it screamed then it screamed. I believe you," Dove assured him.

"Really? You just called it silly," He reminded her

"I'm sorry, okay. I changed my mind, if you say it screamed then it did. Why would you lie? When do you ever lie? I didn't hear anything, but you say you did, so I believe you," Dove confirmed.

"Do you think the grown-ups will believe me?" He asked hopefully.

"Uh, maybe, I don't know. You can try talking to your mama about it when we get back. Do you want to go back and talk to her now? We can look at the birds later," Dove offered.

Quiet hesitated. He did want to talk to his mama about it. Did he need to go do that now? She might think he was still just being emotional if he went and talked to her right now. If he waited a little while then maybe she would believe him more.

"Birds now, then my mama," he told Dove.

"Whatever you want. So come on, we are almost there, I think," Dove said before turning and starting flying off again.

He followed after, and after a few minutes Dove stopped. The pegasus then started looking around the cliff.

"I was sure they were around this spot, somewhere," Dove said to herself.

"You are sure there are purple birds?" Quiet asked suspiciously.

"I didn't make it up!" Dove insisted, and continued looking. After a moment or two of looking she gave a little, almost birdlike, chirp of triumph as she gestured to a nest very low on the cliff near the ground.

"See! Here is the nest. I thought it was higher up. Maybe they moved it?" Dove said as the two came in close to it.

"I don't think birds just move nests," Quiet said as he looked at the little nest. There were no birds in the nest, just one little egg. The egg was hard to notice at first as it was partially buried in the nest, and it looked there there was dirt in the nest with it which was covering part of it.

Quiet got really close to the egg. As he got close he thought he could hear just the finest sounds, like a voice that was muffled. It was like the fish in the stream again, only even lower in sound.

The nest was positioned so it would get plenty of sunlight to keep the egg warm. It was a little oblong thing. Quiet could tell there was something in it alive, something that was making the same sounds he could almost hear like when he was watching the stream. The egg was wiggling a tiny bit, which meant it might hatch soon.

What if he touched the egg? When he had touched the fish was when it had screamed. Maybe if he was more gentle this time and didn't do anything to hurt it he could hear the egg better without it screaming. That kind of made sense to him. If he could hear this egg then he could prove he was telling the truth to the grown-ups about the fish screaming if they didn't believe him.

He carefully reached out a hoof and gently touched the egg. The egg didn't feel like he expected. It was soft, and it felt kind of like his wings. He had expected it to be harder, and have a feel kind of like a shell.

Mama?

He withdrew his hoof in a quick jerk. He had heard that for sure. He looked over to Dove, but she just looked at him curiously. She didn't act like she had heard.

"Did you hear that?" He asked her.

"Hear what?" She asked with a tilt of her head.

"The egg talked," he said.

"Are you sure you are okay? First you said fish and now an egg," she said, concern in her voice.

He sighed and looked back at the egg without answering her. He had heard it. The egg had talked. He would find some way of proving it. He reached for the egg and touched it again.

Mama?

"I am not your mama. I am a colt," he told the egg.

"Um, you are being really weird right now, Quiet," Dove said beside him.

Mama. Came the voice from the egg again with a sound of certainty.

He wasn't going to argue with an egg. He was confused over how Dove could not hear it. The voice was so clear, like it was right in his head. Frustration was building up in him and he wanted to cry because he couldn't figure out how to prove he could hear the egg.

Mama sad? Came from the egg. He could tell that it was upset at what he was feeling. How did it know?

Quiet sat and thought for a moment. How did he know the egg was upset? He just knew it was upset that he was upset. He thought about the voice. Something was off about it, like the idea of what was said came before him hearing the words. Maybe he needed to talk to the egg with ideas?

Not sad. He thought at the egg, and tried to make it convincing.

Happy Mama not sad. Love Mama. Came the answer from the egg. Quiet smiled as he was making progress. He would have to convince this egg it wasn't its mama, but for right now he was figuring out how to talk to it.

"What are you doing? You are being really quiet, Quiet," Dove asked. He almost got startled by her speaking. He had actually forgotten she was there for a second.

"I'm talking to the egg," he told her.

"I'm right here, I could tell if you're talking to the egg, but you're being quiet," Dove said.

"Not with words. I've gotta think at it. It's weird. The egg is talking to me in my head, and I've gotta talk back to it with thinking," he tried to explain.

"Okay, if you say so," Dove said skeptically.

Want out Mama. Want be with Mama. Help out? Came from the egg. The egg started shaking even more. He realized it was trying to hatch, and it wanted him to help.

Quiet put a tiny bit more pressure on the egg. He was trying to be careful, he didn't want to hurt it. The egg wasn't very hard, it couldn't take that much to make it open up. The egg kept shaking as he applied pressure and a little crack appeared in the egg.

He pulled his hoof back and watched as the egg continued to shake and widen the crack. He watched in fascination as a little wing finally pushed its way through the crack. The shaking kept up as the hatching continued and another wing pushed its way out. More shaking and then a third wing, and then a fourth. Birds didn't have four wings. The only thing that had four wings was..

"Snake!" Dove yelled in terror, and flew backwards away from the hatching egg.

Yeah, that was right. He didn't feel scared though. He knew somehow the snake wouldn't hurt him. He stayed where he was and kept watching as the little snake finally freed itself from the egg.

It was a small thing. It looked almost like a big worm. It was all black except for the wings, which were blue and feathery. The little snake pushed itself completely out of the egg and raised its head up to look at him.

Love Mama. Hungry Mama. He heard it say to him. He didn't need to touch it now to hear it. He needed to find it food. What did baby snakes eat? Bugs most likely was his best guess.

He looked down around and found a big beetle crawling around on the ground. He went down and carefully grabbed the beetle up in his teeth, careful to keep the squirming thing from biting his lips or tongue. He was silently pleased he didn't hear anything from the bug like he had from the snake or the fish. Maybe bugs were too dumb to talk?

Quiet brought the beetle back up to the nest and dropped it in. The little snake quickly gobbled it up. It was a big beetle, and he was surprised the snake was able to get it down.

Mama fed. Mama good. Love Mama. Came the simple short thoughts from the baby snake.

"Um, Quiet..your flank is glowing," Dove said to him.

Quiet turned his head and looked at his flank. There was now the image of a winged snake with little symbols all around it. He had a cutie mark now, and couldn't help but smile with pride.

"We should go back to the camp," Dove said with worry.

"I need to take care of this baby. It needs me," Quiet told her.

"It's a snake, Quiet, snakes are dangerous," she replied. She looked at his cutie mark and gave her head a shake. "Fine, stay here and I am going to go get the grown-ups."

He didn't watch her go. He was far more focused on the little baby snake that was convinced he was its mama.

Mama up? Up to Mama?

Quiet tried to figure out what the little snake wanted. What did it mean by up? Did the little snake want him to pick it up? He liked it when his mama picked him up and put him on her back, so maybe the little snake wanted the same thing.

He extended a hoof down to the snake and the snake tried to crawl up on it. It wasn't doing a good job. He felt a little pinch as the snake bit down on his hoof to try to get a better grip on him. It didn't hurt, the snake's fangs were really tiny. When he felt the snake had a good grip on his hoof he reached his hoof around to his back, and the snake crawled off into his back and curled up into his mane.

Love Mama. Sleepy now. Came the contented thought from the snake. It made Quiet smile as he could feel the love coming from the snake. He tried to send back loving thoughts to the snake. He thought about what his mama did when he was trying to sleep and decided to give the snake a lullaby.

Hush now,quiet now
It's time to rest your sleepy head
Hush now, quiet now
It's time to go to bed

He continued the singing until he could tell the little snake had drifted off to sleep. He lowered himself black down to the ground and curled up there. He didn't want to disturb the little snake with his wing-beats. He looked around the forest and he could hear more voices like the snake's and the fish's out there. He had to focus on them to really tell anything about them, but they seemed clearer now. He could hear all the animals out in the woods. They weren't talking to him, just thinking random things. He lay his head down to the ground and just tuned them out, it felt easy to do now. He focused instead on the contented thoughts of the little snake as it slept.

"Quiet, there you are! Are you okay? Dove said there was a snake. Did it bite you? Can you move?" Came his mama's frantic voice.

He turned and looked at her. She was there with Water Shadow and Dove as well. She looked really worried, they all did. He put a hoof up to his muzzle to indicate for them to be quiet. Then pointed to the little snoozing snake in his mane and then his cutie mark.

His mama let out a gasp at each and seemed unsure what to do. Water Shadow looked at the cutie mark, to the snake, and back to the cutie mark again.

"Explain," Water Shadow ordered.

"I can hear it, I can hear all the animals. I heard the fish yell out in pain when I caught it. This baby snake, it thinks I am its mama. It loves me," Quiet explained quickly. He thought that might be the most he had ever said that fast at once.

"You hear the animals? Like voices? Voices in your head?" Water Shadow asked him.

"Yes, and I can talk back to them, in my head, and they hear me. They understand me and I understand them," Quiet explained further.

"Well then, that is special. Congratulations Sweet Pea, your colt is the first pony with a gift for talking to animals since Fluttershy. It is a rare talent," Water Shadow said.

"Um, that's great to hear, and I am proud of him, but..the snake?" Sweet Pea said in a shaky voice.

"Oh that? I suppose he is stuck being the thing's parent now, they have bonded. It actually is a good thing. That snake will defend him with its life when it gets to full size, and the little bites he will get from it now while it is small will help him develop an immunity to the snake venom. Don't worry about the snake being a danger to him," Water Shadow assured his mother.

"If you say so, Shadow," his mama said. Then she turned her gaze down to him, trying not to look right at the snake too. "You've had a big day, and I am very proud of you. How about we walk back to camp and you can get something to eat and we can figure out someplace in our home to let your snake rest. Are you going to name the snake?"

"I don't know any snake names," Quiet said with embarrassment.

"Let me suggest one that came from a story Sunset once told me," Water Shadow said. "Quetzalcoatl, it is the name of a winged serpent. You can call him Quexy for short."

"Quexy?" Quiet said, feeling out the name. Yes, that felt like a good name. He got to his hooves so he could walk with his mama. He gave his newfound companion a thought as he did.

I love you Quexy.

Chapter 11: Old Things Come Again

When Midnight returned from her hunt she was treated to a few surprises. First, was the news that Quiet Word had earned his cutie mark. The next was that Quiet Word now talked to animals and had a pet snake. The last was that Quiet Word had caught a fish. The first news was something she could be happy for him for, the second was interesting and a bit astonishing, the last was actually the part that made her happiest because it meant he could start getting food for himself which would lessen her work load. That might seem selfish, but hunting for more than just yourself was a whole different ordeal than hunting just for yourself.

Her best friend was trying to encourage her to tell a story as a reward to Quiet Word for his accomplishments on the day. She had no problem with that, she enjoyed telling the stories, and he certainly had earned it today. She just needed to get cleaned up and see to Dove first.

"Dove, honey, come and tell me about everything while I get cleaned up," she called to her daughter.

"Okay, Mama," Dove said and flew to follow her as she flew downstream away from where they drank.

By this point Dove was used to seeing her coated in her prey's blood. It didn't bother the filly and it no longer bothered her. Hunting was part of what she was and Dove accepted her mother's nature as much as she did herself. So now, when she was soaked in pig blood, it didn't phase either of them. This was just the way things were.

"So tell me all about what went on with Quiet Word today," Midnight said as she started washing herself in the stream.

"Well, first he spent a long while staring at the fish in the river, and I had to keep telling him that he was supposed to be trying to catch the fish," Dove began.

"You weren't being too pushy were you?" Midnight asked.

"I wasn't being pushy. I was just telling him that he needed to hurry up so we could go do something else instead," Dove insisted. Midnight rolled her eyes with exasperation that her daughter didn't seem to realize that this sounded very much like being pushy.

"We are going to define pushy better later on, but go on," Midnight prompted.

"Then Quiet went and hovered over the stream after I convinced him that there were some purple birds down the cliff that we could go look at," Dove continued gesturing off in one direction.

"Were there purple birds down the cliff?" Midnight said with a raised eyebrow.

"Maybe.." Dove said with an embarrassed wiggle.

"Did you ever see purple birds down the cliff, Dove?" Midnight pressed her. She already knew the answer, but she was going to have Dove admit it.

"No, but there might have been some down there," Dove said sheepishly, knowing she had been caught in a lie.

"Dove, we have talked about lying. You should never lie. It makes ponies not want to trust you, and makes it so they might not believe you when you are actually telling the truth because they will think you are lying to them again. We are going to break you of this habit or you are going to have to start getting punished for it. Do I make myself clear?" Midnight said firmly. She tried to look her daughter in the eyes, but Dove refused to meet her gaze.

"Yes, Mama," Dove said with a strong hint of shame.

"We aren't going to dwell on it for right now, but the next lie you tell I will punish you for, and I will find out about it. There won't be any hiding the lie from me. You are halfway to being an adult and need to start behaving more responsibly. Right now you can continue with the story," Midnight said. She briefly ducked her head under the water to try to get any blood that might be on her head off, bringing it back up quickly with a splash.

"Yes, Mama," Dove said. Then she gave herself a shake to clear the shame away, and made to continue with her retelling of the day's events. "Well, eventually Quiet did go and bite a fish and threw it out onto the shore. We were all cheering for him; me, and Auntie Sweet Pea, and Water Shadow. Then he fell into the river and Auntie Sweet Pea pulled him out. He was really upset and I didn't know why. I asked Auntie Sweet Pea and she just said he was being emotional and needed to do something else to calm down. So I was going to go take him to see the birds."

"These same birds we have already established don't exist," Midnight said said in a flat tone.

"Um, yes, Mama," Dove said with lowered ears.

Midnight sighed. Sweet Pea said this was just a phase and it was a common one for foals. Midnight hoped it was going to be short. There was likely no returning to Ocid, and that meant it was exceedingly important Quiet Word actually like Dove. There were going to be no other males in Dove's life, and someday he was going to be the sole option for Dove's mate. The Alicorns had discussed ways Midnight and Sweet Pea were capable of still producing foals, but those seemed really strange, and they didn't dare trying them till they knew they were safe from the Mare of Shadows. Dove couldn't be lying to Quiet Word and lose his trust. That was a worry for if they survived leaving this world, but one she had to start preparing for now all the same.

"Please, don't ever lie to Quiet Word ever again, it is even more important than never lying to me or any of the other adults. Promise me you won't lie to him," Midnight said to her daughter with her wings raised high for emphasis.

"I promise, Mama," Dove said. The little filly looked confused. She likely was trying to understand why it was even more important not to lie to Quiet. Midnight hoped that the weight of the promise stuck.

"Good, now continue with the story," Midnight said as she relaxed her posture.

"So we flew off down the cliff and Quiet stopped us to talk. He was saying a lot of weird things, about fish talking, and how he heard them. It made me feel weird," Dove said as she shuffled her hooves.

Feel weird? That was an interesting response. She would have figured her daughter would have said something else. On impulse Midnight considered something that had never come up to ask her daughter about.

"Dove, have you ever heard voices too? Or hear anything else that you couldn't explain?" Midnight asked.

"I don't know," Dove said in a low voice. Not a yes, not a no, and that worried Midnight.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Midnight pressed.

"I..I sometimes think I hear something when you bring food back. Not all the time, just sometimes. I think I am just imagining things. I don't think it is really real," Dove explained. She seemed really uncomfortable. Not uncomfortable like she was lying, Midnight could tell the signs for that. Uncomfortable like Dove was thinking about things she didn't want to think about. It made Midnight feel a little guilty for pressing her daughter on the subject, but this seemed important.

Midnight sometimes felt like she could hear voices too. When she was telling stories it was like they were talking to her, telling her the story so she could tell it. It was to the point now that she was unsure anymore if she was telling a story from memory or it was coming from somewhere else. When she asked the alicorns about it they just said her power was growing and she was capable of doing things she never could before as a result. She didn't understand why it should be growing, and they didn't seem to be forthcoming with an answer.

She wished her growing power were directed into something that could better help her daughter survive. Sweet Pea was growing more powerful too. Her best friend was now capable of magic even stronger than what the alicorns could do back in Ocid. She was becoming a powerful magic caster like the unicorns of old. The alicorns were also growing stronger, and said they were now nearly as strong as they had been when Harmony still stood. Now Quiet Word could talk to animals apparently. All Midnight could do was tell stories. Well, that and hunt, but that didn't require magic power.

Dove's abilities still were just as much a mystery as the day she was born. She had figured out Dove was indeed capable of cloud walking like the pegasi of old. Discovering that had given her a panic when one day Dove flew up high and didn't come back down, only for Sunset to find the filly sitting contentedly on a cloud. She was also capable of some small scale weather manipulation just like they could too. Those were normal pegasus abilities though, not things that should get her a cutie mark on birth and have ancient demons wanting her dead. If Dove was hearing voices too it was best to figure out why.

"If you ever think you hear anything like that again tell me right away. Don't lie and say you have if you don't, but if you do make sure you tell an adult right away," She told her little pegasus.

"Yes, Mama," Dove said again.

"Would you be willing to come with me on my next hunt? I know it might be scary for you to see, but I want to see if you hear anything right after I make a kill. Do you think you can be a big brave filly and watch so you can let me know?" Midnight asked. She didn't want to have Dove watch her hunt, but if she was only hearing it sometimes then maybe it needed the body to be more freshly killed. It was a stretch, but they were all desperate to figure Dove's cutie mark out, and time was running out.

"I can really watch you hunt, Mama?" Dove said with wide eyes. She was far more excited about this than Midnight liked. She didn't want Dove to be afraid, but she didn't want her eager either.

"If you promise to behave yourself and not try anything of the sort yourself or get in my way. I am telling you now it can be scary. It is a side to me I really don't like the idea of you seeing, but this might be important," Midnight said.

"I can be a brave filly, Mama, don't be sad. I love you no matter what," Dove said, and the filly quickly flew over and tackled Midnight in a hug.

After giving her daughter a big hug she got the rest if the story out of Dove. Midnight took the time to praise her daughter for doing the right thing by going and getting an adult when the situation got to where she didn't know what to do anymore. It was as important to praise her daughter for doing the right things as it was to scold her for doing the wrong.

After getting Dove to help her make sure her mane was completely blood free they headed back to camp. Sunset had arrived back as well while Midnight had been bathing, and was getting the account of what had happened told to her by a much more animated than normal Quiet Word. The little colt was probably as happy to be getting the alicorns' attention as he was with getting his cutie mark and new companion. It wasn't really fair that he should be neglected in favor of Dove so often, but Dove was the priority. The two foals didn't understand what was going on, and she was dreading having to explain it to them. That date was rapidly approaching though. She didn't need any of her horned companions spells that could tell time to know that, she just had to look at the growing foals. Dove was now around nine years old according to Sweet Pea, that meant they had used up more than three quarters of their time.

She watched and waited for Quiet Word to finish telling Sunset all about his cutie mark story. Sunset was smiling as she listened and would intermittently ask a question, but there was a sad look in her eyes that Midnight wondered at. Water Shadow had the same look as well, and Midnight really wanted to ask them about it, but didn't want to interrupt Quiet Word's big moment with anything that would dampen the mood.

"I heard some pony did something to earn a story today," she said after it seemed he had finished. "I heard all about it, and am very proud of you too. What kind of story did you want to hear? Did you want to hear about Gusty the Great again? Or Patina and the Mirror? Or maybe the Tale of The Two Sisters?"

"Can you sing me an old song this time? I kind of want to learn a new song," Quiet said.

She looked at him with bemusement. Songs weren't part of her normal stories. The archives back in Ocid didn't really keep track of old songs. She of course knew a few simple lullabies that she had been sung in Foal Services when she was very young, and then there were some drinking songs that were sung in some less reputable areas of Ocid. Neither of those really seemed appropriate for what he would want.

"I'm sorry, I'm afraid I really don't know any old songs," she said sympathetically.

"Please, Mama, you know all the old things. You have to know a song too," Dove pleaded while griping Midnight's leg.

Midnight looked down at the two eager foals with lowered ears. She really didn't want to disappoint them, but this was beyond her knowledge.

"I don't think she knows any songs, little ones, but I am sure she could tell you a story you never heard before. Perhaps she could tell about Fluttershy and the dragon," Water Shadow said, coming to her rescue.

The two foals still looked very disappointed. It actually kind of broke her heart that she would fail them in this. It really shouldn't be a big deal, but she felt like the least important of the adults most of the time as it was. She wouldn't be able to do anything to help defend them against the Mare of Shadows or her abominations, telling these stories made her feel like she was providing something more for them. She would do this, she would sing them an old song, somehow.

"No, I can sing a song. Just sit quietly for a moment while I prepare," Midnight said. The two foals looked at her with excitement, the adults looked at her in confusion.

Midnight took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She needed to find those voices, she needed them for this. This was going to be completely coming from outside of her. She was just a conduit for old knowledge and the voices would give her the words. The power was there, it was growing every day. She had to be able to do this by now.

She felt a light breeze pick up and thought she could hear the beginnings of the sounds of music. That was almost certainly her imagination. She could feel the heat on her flank that meant her cutie mark was lighted up, and that told her that she was going to be able to do this.

She listened carefully to the distant sound of long forgotten music, and reached into herself to find the voices that would give her the words to give to the song. After a long moment she opened her eyes and began to sing.

"Simul autem cantabo
et audient in montibus nostram vocationem;
nostras voces ut
recordatus sum usque in sempiternum,
Terra Equest-Tria!"

The foals looked on with gazes of unabashed joy, the adults looked on with gazes of pure shock. Midnight was sure she could hear the music of long ago instruments with her actual ears now, and the wind was picking up more.

"Et erit in patria exultant lusibus
diem ac noctem et sint in;
pedes tenens nos conjunget
una mens, una anima mea
Terra Equest-Tria!"

The music was loud now, it was real, and all the ponies could hear it play in harmony with her singing. The wind she realized was radiating directly off her, and her cutie mark was so bright she could see its light even while looking forward. Still there was more song to sing, and she couldn't bring herself to stop. Something deep inside her compelled her to keep going and she had to obey.

"O, Luna's in clara stellarum in lumine
et luna lucet in terra deorsum
Celestia's aestate aetheres
dirige nos perducere
Terra Equest-Tria!"

The magic was so intense. She had never felt anything like this before, she couldn't imagine a pony holding so much magic at once. Her cutie mark now blazed like it was a sun of its own. Her whole body was glowing. Visible waves of magic drifted off her.

"Midnight, you have to stop this right now, you don't know what you are about to do!" Sunset shouted in fear.

"No! You must continue on! We need you to do this. For the good of your daughter. You must continue and claim this!" Water Shadow said with eagerness.

There wasn't really any choice involved between the two. She had to finish whether she wanted to or not. The magic compelled her and she was just the conduit for it. She had just one verse left and it would be finished.

"Nos iocundis interesse risus
de amore et fide, ut participes simus
et cognoscat mundus bonum tempora
gloria et honore coronasti
Terra Equest-Tria!"

With the final words of the song the light exploded out from her, the world went into a blinding white light, and she passed out.

[

"What were you thinking telling her to continue!" Sunset shouted at Water Shadow.

Water Shadow sat impassively as Sunset raged at her. She would let Sunset vent her anger out.

"You know why we put an end to that happening in our world, it is too dangerous. You of all ponies should have been the one trying to stop her!" Sunset continued to rage.

Midnight was still unconscious beside them in the shelter. She was unharmed, the complete opposite of unharmed, but her body and mind needed a little bit of time to adjust after what had just had happened.

"And what are we supposed to tell the others out there? What ideas will be planted once they realize what Midnight has done!" Sunset raged on as she gestured with a wing towards the door.

She and Sunset had moved quickly to get Midnight hidden away after the flash. Water Shadow didn't think that any of the others had seen her in the brief moment. They had all been too dazed by what had happened. There was now a force field and sound dampening spell up around this shelter. They had told the others that they were taking care of Midnight, but had given no details of me explanations.

"What do we do if one of the others does the same? This is a nightmare." Sunset said. She was a little quieter now.

"If one of the others does the same we will count our blessings that they did," Water Shadow finally spoke, having decided that Sunset was calm enough to reason with now. "We need this, Sunset, our world needs this."

"This could mean the death of our world," Sunset countered.

"Our world is dead if we do nothing. Are there dangers to this? Yes, most definitely. But sometimes you have to have to steer your ship into dangerous waters to escape the storm that will surely sink it," Water Shadow said calmly.

"How can you be so calm? You remember even better than I do what happened last time we let this occur," Sunset demanded.

"I remember it very well, but this is not the same as last time. We can make this work this time. Midnight will not be cast off trying to cope with this herself. The others before were left alone and given no support. It is no wonder that most went mad," she explained.

"That is no guarantee," Sunset said dismissively. "And if the same happens with Sweet Pea? Or one of the foals?"

"We will support them too," Water Shadow answered confidently.

"Why do you think support will be enough?" Sunset asked.

"Why? You of all ponies should know that answer to that. Who was it that supported me when I was ready to drown in madness and pulled me back up?" Water Shadow asked.

"It was me," Sunset said quietly.

"Then do you have no faith in it working again after you had success with it? What pulled you back from the madness when you succumbed for a brief time in that other world?" Water Shadow pressed on.

"Support from friends who cared about me," Sunset answered again quietly.

"And that is how we shall keep the madness from taking hold now. Don't forget that most of us that ascended in that century were not part of Twilight's inner circle like you were and we were left to deal with having to see loved ones pass away from old age as we remained unchanged and dealing with powers we didn't understand with absolutely no support whatsoever, there were simply too many of us," Water Shadow concluded with a hint of bitterness to her voice.

"I am just afraid. For the first time in seven thousand years I am looking on the face of a freshly ascended alicorn and all the memories of the Time of Madness are rushing back to me. There weren't supposed to be any more of us. We sealed the ascension so it wouldn't happen again. Not even Biblo could achieve it when she was filled with the full power of the Tree of Harmony," Sunset said as she looked down on Midnight's now horned head.

"That seal apparently doesn't work in other universes it seems," Water Shadow said.

"What are we going to tell her when she wakes? What are we going to tell the rest?" Sunset asked.

"The truth, Midnight ascended to Alicornhood, and now has power to fight back like you, me, and Sweet Pea to try to save our lives from the monsters waiting outside," Water Shadow replied.

"Should we be pushing Sweet Pea to do the same?" Sunset asked.

"If she does it then it will happen on its own. You know how this works. Her magic was far weaker than Midnight's when she first entered here. Now she is exceedingly powerful for a unicorn. If she ascends then she ascends, if she doesn't then she is still useful as an extremely powerful unicorn the likes our world hasn't seen in many a generation. We don't need to push anything."

"I just hope this doesn't go terribly wrong," Sunset whispered. "I have lost too many friends to madness."

"Some were pushed to it, don't forget that, most of them weren't even alicorns. Peridot can't be blamed for what goes on in her head, what she has to shoulder would drive any pony mad. That is why we cowardly didn't shoulder the responsibility for Ocid. We are at fault for her, and should admit to it. Biblo was pushed to madness by Pinkie Pie we eventually learned. We don't know what happened with Pinkie Pie, but I suspect the Elder Gods meddled in some way to push her off the edge too. Took us nearly two centuries after her death to even realize what she had done or that she had betrayed us," Water Shadow said sadly.

"Our friends now might be pushed to it as well," Sunset said.

"We all face that danger. The Mare of Shadows has demonstrated she can touch your dreams. That seems as good a place as can be to drive you mad. If she can do it to you I don't doubt she can do the same to me as well," Water Shadow lamented.

"Then let's agree to talk to one another about any strange dreams we might have so we can fight her influence together," Sunset said.

"We need to get back to Peridot if we survive. We know the necromancer touches her dreams too. We failed her miserably to this point, we need to try to help her too. She should never have had to bear the burden we left her with. It is time to start fixing our mistakes," Water Shadow said with a sigh.

"I am not sure there is any time left to fix them. If we return to Ocid we still have the threat of the undead horde coming down on it to get Dove. We have some idea how to survive a little while now, but these are just delaying tactics. We need to understand our enemy. She doesn't seem to actually want to destroy Ocid, and we need to know why. We are no closer to understanding her motivations than we when she first appeared seven centuries ago," Sunset said with a stomp of her hoof.

The hoof stomp was loud. The sound dampening spell would have blocked the sound from going outside, but the sound inside was enough to rouse Midnight. The newly minted alicorn stirred from her sleep with a groan and Water Shadow moved over to her to be ready to help her.

"What..happened?" Midnight said sleepily as she opened her eyes.

"You did a very impressive feat of magic. How are you feeling?" Water Shadow asked cheerfully as she could. Hoping that her pleasant tone would put the young alicorn at ease before Midnight had the shock of realization of what she had become.

"I remember singing. It was something ancient, really ancient. I was drawing so much power to make the words come," Midnight said, with a shake of her head to clear it.

"And how are you feeling after all of that?" Water Shadow reiterated.

"Actually I feel good. I can feel a lot of magic running through me now, but it doesn't hurt like it did when I was singing," Midnight said with her eyes going wide. "Where is every pony else?"

"They are all outside. We wanted to make sure you were well adjusted before they saw you. This will be a shock to both you and them," Water Shadow said pleasantly.

"That's an understatement," Sunset grumbled.

"Hush," Water Shadow hissed at the golden alicorn.

"Why would it be a shock?" Midnight asked. She got to her hooves and then froze as it finally registered to her that her body was different. Midnight turned and looked at her now black feathered wings and gasped.

"What happened to my wings?" Midnight shouted.

"Touch a hoof to your forehead, you have some other shocks in store for you," Sunset said to her in a nonchalant voice.

Midnight did as instructed and froze as her hoof touched her new horn, a long grey thing that matched her fur.

"Welcome to Club Alicorn," Sunset said.

Midnight shook a little and took a visible gulp as she lowered her hoof down to the ground.

"Okay, I can deal with this. I can deal with this," Midnight assured herself. Water Shadow didn't think the young alicorn really sounded that confident. Midnight seemed close to hyperventilating.

"It takes some getting used to, but I can assure you that it isn't that bad. Sunset and I have gotten along with it well enough these last seven thousand years," Water Shadow said calmly.

"Am I immortal now?" Midnight said shakily.

"Well, as immortal as you can be if you don't let the Mare of Shadows kill you," Water Shadow assured her. She hoped that if she kept treating this as the most natural thing in the world that Midnight would calm down.

"What about the others?" Midnight asked, her eyes crossed as she tried to gaze at her new body part.

"They are all outside just like you last saw them. They are likely all extremely worried about you. I am pretty sure I have felt Dove trying to beat her way through the shield to get in here to see you," Water Shadow said.

"She is okay? I didn't hurt her?" Midnight said.

"Other than being worried frantic about you she is fine," Water Shadow assured her.

"I need to see my daughter," Midnight said as she stopped looking at her horn.

"You can, as soon as we are sure you are calm and adjusted," Water Shadow insisted. "If you go out there too upset you might hurt some pony, including your daughter, by accident. You are a lot more powerful now, a lot stronger, and have magic at your command you know nothing about. I know this is hard, but you need to be able to sit down and compose yourself. Will you please just sit down and be calm and we will go get Dove to come see you."

"Okay, I'll get calm. Just please, let me see my daughter," Midnight begged.

Sunset rose to her hooves and went outside. Water Shadow was glad that Sunset was letting her take the lead in this. Sunset was a wonderful friend, but she could be a little harsh sometimes. This needed a gentle hoof.

After a brief moment Dove came rushing in with Sunset coming back in behind her. The filly skidded to a halt as she beheld her mother and just stared.

"Dove? It's okay, I'm okay," Midnight said as she looked at her daughter's wide eyed expression.

"Mama? You..you look different. What happened to you?" Dove asked as she looked her mother over uncertainly.

"Mama did a lot of big magic and turned into an alicorn, honey. I'm fine, I'm just getting used to this. I am actually a little scared to tell you the truth. Are..are you scared of me?" Midnight asked, trying to hold back a sob as she spoke.

Dove rushed over to her mother and embraced her and rubbed head passionately against her mother. Midnight broke down crying then as she embraced her filly back, wrapping her now feathered wings around Dove as she did, and nuzzling her with her head.

"I'm not scared of you Mama, I was just really scared something bad happened to you. There was all that light and other stuff I didn't understand. Sunset and Shadow were shouting, and then they took you in here and blocked us all out. I was really scared Mama. I thought..I thought.." Dove cried, unable to finish the sentence.

"It is okay. Everything will be okay. I can protect you better now. I always felt I couldn't protect you like I should. But I can do better now, this is a good thing, I think," Midnight looked up to Water Shadow and Sunset after saying this. The two nodded affirmation back. Midnight went back to nuzzling her filly after seeing it.

"I think I am going to go outside and prep Sweet Pea and Quiet for the shock," Sunset said. Water Shadow nodded to Sunset and the golden alicorn went back outside.

Water Shadow watched the mother and daughter embrace and show their love for one another. She thought about her own long dead pegasus filly, Sea Star, as she did. She couldn't help but do so, the parallels were too strong. She dearly hoped that it did not end the same way for these two as well.

This time will be different. I promise you both I will give my last dying breath if need be to make sure this time is different.

Hydia lounged on her ornate cushioned couch wishing to have a more trained slave at the moment. It was always a joy when she finally broke the will of one of the nobles, but it took time to train them to perform properly. She was in a bad mood and the poorly performing male hippogriff was not helping her mood. It would have to be endured for the moment. She would have one of the better trained ones follow this one up later.

The source of her bad mood was that disgusting Mare of Shadows. The bitch had gone and done a gambit that had weakened her influence within the royal family dramatically. She almost had the influence she wanted over the queen but all that was gone now after their victory over that undead attack. It was unlikely she would be able to get any further with this one now, which meant at least another generation before she had control of the throne here. So much time and effort wasted.

"Ow! Watch the beak, dearie. You are not supposed to actually eat me," she scolded the newest slave as he got too rough. There was no reason to get harsh with him yet, doing so too early on could break her hold on him.

"I'm sorry, I've never done this before," the teal hippogriff said.

"You are doing fine, just more tongue less beak. In a few minutes I will show you how much I am enjoying your attention," she said with a purr. She might have been enjoying it if not for her bad mood, so she definitely would make a good show of it.

She went back to her thoughts and let him get back to work on her personal areas. She was especially angry that there didn't seem to be much she could do to get back at that bitch of a pony. Her spy into the pony's lair was dead, she had felt the life go out of him. Nothing of use had been learned from that other than she sadistically kept trophies of her kills. Hydia preferred her living prizes herself, the dead didn't bring much pleasure normally. What was the point of anything if there was no pleasure involved?

She felt a small nagging at her thoughts and concentrated on it. She let off a sigh as she realized the old goat was trying to get in contact with her. Grogar somehow managed to stink even in dreams, which meant he had to do it on purpose since he shaped the dream. Truly one of the most disgusting creatures she had ever had the displeasure of knowing. What did the cretin want? This was going to mess with her training of her new slave to go to sleep now. She decided just to ignore the summons.

"Is something wrong?" the new slave asked as he paused in his attentions of her.

"Nothing is wrong. You are doing an excellent job. How about I.." he words were cut off as the world suddenly plunged into black.

Hydia was now in the dream world; she sat in a fabrication of the throne room of Tambelon, and before her sitting on his throne was Grogar. The vile goat had forcefully brought her into it! How dare he do such a thing to her! Still, she would have to hold her temper with him. If he brought her forcefully here that had a lot of not so good implications for her. She didn't think she was in any danger of losing her bell, but her recent setbacks might very well be frowned upon by her masters. She would need to be on her best behavior.

"My dear, you seemed to not be noticing when I summoned you. I decided to save us some time and just bring you here right away. There is business to attend to, and I need you to work quickly," Grogar said as he peered down at her.

"What tasks do you have of me, Lord Grogar?" she asked compliantly.

"The Mare of Shadows is likely going to be removed from our ranks, why that is happens to be none of your concern. I am already planning out her replacement. I need you to help make sure she ends up gone though. To that end I have a task for you," Grogar explained.

Getting back at the bitch of the pony? She didn't need to be ordered for this. Whatever Grogar wanted would likely cost her resources, but that was fine. She could recover no matter if it cost her everything; it was worth it to finally take that creature down.

"What do you want me to do, Lord Grogar?" Hydia said with an evil smile.

Author's Notes:

If you want to hear the clean version of Midnight's song here it is. Please support Evening Star who makes some pretty epic music for MLP.

https://youtu.be/8-TvjOfQI2w

Chapter 12: Divination

Night Mist crept along the shadows of the factory, her son Cotton Tail following close behind. She knew this factory had a long history of serious safety issues and there was a lot of discontent here. She knew of a pony that had been very vocal that was still working here as well, and he was her current target. As long as the pony didn't riot they were not taken away for subversion, no matter how much they complained. Unfortunately this one likely had the ill will of the factory bosses and would soon find himself going to the Bakery for poor performance. If there was a pony who would be quick to be on board with her revolution, and have contacts to other disaffected ponies, it would be this one.

She had discovered she had gained another ability, cameras seemed to fail when she walked by them. She could see the things actually shutting down when she passed by. There was some danger in the ability, it was a way to track her in itself, just follow the failing cameras. She wasn't sure if Moon Fury was trying to help her or cause her additional problems by granting her this power. Maybe, if she actually could control it instead of it passively happening it would be good. For the moment it wasn't a threat as she hadn't started doing anything yet, and they could just assume regular technical issues. When things start happening it would be a target trained on her that she could do without.

The pony she was trying to get in touch with should be ending their shift soon. He was a crystal pony by the name of Argot Cut, he had worked in this victory for eight years. He was actually in charge of the computer system maintenance here, which should have kept him free from harm. What had happened was that he had been working on a terminal near the foundry one day, and was down on his back when the foundry had spilled over. He had received severe burns on his face from the molten metal, but had been deemed still suitable for work. After that point he had been very vocal about the conditions on the factory floor.

They would recognize him as a pony in the mid-twenties, blue fur, yellow mane, and burn scars on the face. He had been a friend to many of the rioters that had been arrested in the most recent such one here. He was perfect for her plans. She had other similar ponies that she intended contact with in other factories, as well as some in the breeding centers, and one in the guard. She needed them all to be organized under her. With their aid and influence she would quickly gain the numbers to either force Peridot Glow from power, or force the Ponymother to the table to negotiate appeasement.

She spotted the pony she was looking for working on a nearby wall terminal. She wished she still had her suit so she could tell what time it was. The factory was dimly lit so she and Cotton could keep hidden if they were careful for a little while, but extended time here risked discovery. There would be a lot of uncomfortable questions if they were found.

After what felt like an eternity of waiting she saw Argot Cut check his leg for the time and reseal up the terminal. She quickly went out and grabbed him, muffling his cries with a wing. When she had him pulled out of sight she released him.

"Who are you? What do you want?" He demanded, looking warily at her naked, partially metal, body. Perhaps he thought the metal some strange suit.

"I am Night Mist, and this is my son Cotton Tail. You are Argot Cut, correct?" She said.

"Yeah, that's me. What do you want? What's your position?" Argot answered.

"We were formally acolytes of the alicorns, but that job no longer seems to exist since the alicorns are gone. We want to talk to you about Ocid's current management," Night Mist said.

"The alicorns are gone?" Argot said with shock. That was interesting; Peridot had not informed Ocid about their mistresses departure from the city. The Ponymother must be hoping that the belief that there were still alicorns in Ocid would help her.

"Yes, both Sunset Shimmer and Water Shadow have left the city and are unlikely to return any time soon, if at all. We watched the Ponymother drive them out," she confirmed. It wasn't a complete lie that Peridot had forced them out, and saying it that way might earn the Ponymother more ill will.

"How will we survive without the alicorns?" Argot said in a panic.

"The better question is how will Ocid survive with Peridot running everything with no temperance from the alicorns. With the alicorns gone we have to do something or the worst will happen to all of us. It was only them keeping things from spiraling out of control. The Ponymother is a drunk and a fool who cares nothing for us. She has also betrayed us by making deals with the necromancer," Night Mist said with a growl towards the end.

"That is a big accusation," Argot said with his voice lowered.

"Why do you think the alicorns left? The Mare of Shadows started making demands of us giving foals to her and the Alicorns would not stand for it, but Peridot gave in. She is willingly giving ponies over to the necromancer now. We cannot let some puppet of that demon continue in power," she said in an equally low voice.

"But what can we do?" the crystal pony asked.

"Once enough ponies know what she has done we will have an army of our own, not some simple riot. Many of the ponies in the guard will join themselves when they learn what she has done, they have spent too long fighting the necromancer's horde to allow Ocid to be ruled by some puppet of the necromancer."

"How will you be able to organize so many ponies before the Ponymother finds out and puts a stop to it?" Argot asked.

"See the camera," Night Mist pointed with a wing. "They shut down when I come by, the more I walk through Ocid the less of them work. I wear no suit so I am untraceable by the computer. As a former acolyte I know the inner workings of everything under the Dome. Further, I think Peridot is just an incompetent would can't figure out much on her own without my mistress and Water Shadow to walk her through it," Night Mist explained.

"What exactly are you now," Argot said hesitantly as he looked her over. She should expect that her appearance made ponies uncomfortable. That wasn't entirely a bad thing. It was something that could make them believe they were following some pony greater than themselves, it was something they could believe had power to do things.

"I am a pony that made it through the worst of what Peridot could dish out, as well as the Bakery, and came out ready to fight. We can make Ocid into what it should be if we work together. I survived Ocid, and I will see to it that the rest of the ponies survive it too. Ocid won't just survive, Ocid will actually live," Night Mist declared proudly.

"Tell me what you want me to do," Argot said.

Night Mist smiled. It would all come together quickly. Peridot wouldn't be sitting in her office by the end of the week and would never see the revolution coming. She was going to make everything right in Ocid.

Sunset watched as Midnight's rather weak little shield failed once again under Sweet Pea's assault, and sighed.

Sweet Pea was actually holding back a lot, the unicorn could have seriously injured the young alicorn if she was actually trying. Midnight just wasn't able to form a very effective shield. It wasn't really much of a surprise that Midnight was losing so easily to Sweet Pea. Midnight barely knew how to use her horn for basic levitation, with only having it for less than a year, and was now trying to push to do shields and blasts. Sweet Pea on the other hoof had been given constant training the last ten years with them. Midnight likely had more raw power as an alicorn, but Sweet Pea was an adept magic user of the highest skill level. There was nothing fair about this fight, as pure skill would win out over brawn most of the time, except in the most extreme cases. Sweet Pea was strong enough, and Midnight young enough, that Midnight didn't have enough power to completely overwhelm the unicorn without knowing what she was doing.

There just wasn't enough time to be met Midnight where she stood any sort of fighting chance versus the abomination that had attacked them. None of them stood a real chance against the Mare of Shadows herself, but Sunset and Water Shadow were both matches for the abomination now, with Sweet Pea able to at least defend herself for a time. The hope was that the necromancer had left and only had her abomination guarding the mirror, that would give them time to escape somewhere else.

But in the end this would all come down to just running from place to place until they were finally caught. It wasn't a real plan. They had spent nearly eleven years worth of time here and that was still the best they had to work with. In another year's time they would have to leave and they were doomed in the end no matter what. Perhaps they could find a way to escape back into the mirror after twelve hours had passed again, that would give them more time, but they would be in the same situation again more or less even if the other three ascended as well during the second visit.

Sunset sat brooding as she continued to watch Sweet Pea and Midnight Glow train. Water Shadow was out exploring, something they took turns doing from day one. There was always some small hope they might find another mirror or something out in this world somewhere that could aid them, but their exploration had turned up nothing these eleven years.

The two foals sat watching their mothers train. Dove was shouting encouragement to her mother, and Quiet Word was just sitting quietly with his snake. The little colt had developed an interesting hunting technique that seemed to work for him. He would have his snake go out and use its venom to paralyze the prey, and then Quiet Word would sooth the victim to sleep before finishing it off peacefully. Sunset supposed it was a kinder way of killing if one had to kill to survive.

She still, infuriatingly, didn't know what Dove's abilities were. She figured it had something to do with the recently deceased based on what little they could find out, and it had to be very recently deceased, but she hadn't demonstrated any ability to do anything involving them. Sunset half feared that it was some form of necromancy, and that the reason why she hadn't shown any use of her abilities were they were dark magic in nature, but that explanation didn't seem to fit right either. It was a mystery that they might be forced to leave here without having solved.

"Pause for a break you two. I don't think we will make much more progress on Midnight's shields right this second," Sunset called out to the two dueling ponies.

"I'm sorry, I really am trying my best," Midnight said with lowered ears.

"I know you are. It takes years worth of time to master this kind of thing for a pony that was already well versed in the basic use of their horn. You are trying to even still get used to having a horn at all. You might be of use versus some undead, so your efforts aren't completely wasted," Sunset told the younger alicorn.

"I have been trying my best to push myself further so I might ascend too, but not having much luck," Sweet Pea said with her own lowered head.

"I think to do that you need to tap more into your cutie mark so you are pulling from the core of your being, but I see few opportunities for that right now. Perhaps if we manage to escape back into the mirror we can figure something out to better trigger that. For now I am confident that if we can deal with the abomination and the necromancer is not right at hoof you can keep the foals safe. That is all that we can ask for now," Sunset told the unicorn.

"Dove," Sunset continued, now looking at the pegasus filly. "How is your target practice going with that gun?"

"Um, I'm hitting the target most of the time now, but not the center like you want. Only sometimes the center," the little pegasus replied. They had recently started the filly to learning how to use one of the guns that they had brought with them. The filly was a bit large for her age, looking more like she was a young adult rather than eleven if you caught just a glance at her, and chances were she would be a titan of a mare just like Peridot if she ever reached adulthood. She had just gotten to a size that she could comfortably strap the gun on and use it. It seemed a horrible thing to be forcing a foal to learn how to do, but it was imperative that she be able to do something to try to defend herself if need be.

Sunset had no special instructions for Quiet. The little colt was hunting for himself now, and was still too small to use a weapon. His snake was his primary self defense, and would likely would be no use against anything in the Dead Lands, but might aid him if they ever returned to Ocid.

"When you and Midnight have rested up for a few minutes, Sweet Pea, I want you to try working with her again on teleportation. Teleporting can keep ponies alive and doesn't need the same skill as shielding does to be effective enough to use," Sunset ordered. "What is your own personal best teleportation range currently?"

"I have a spot about seventy furlongs out that I have marked that I can teleport to with no problem, but blindly I only feel safe doing maybe four or five furlongs at a time. I am confident I can do them with the foals in tow with no problem, and while maintaining a shield," Sweet Pea answered. Her blind teleports were enough to get her out of range of sight at least, provided they weren't in an open plain. They might get a little better in the next year, but this was about what they were going to get. Midnight had yet to manage a controlled teleport. Sunset and Water Shadow could likely do close to a thousand furlongs blindly now, but were likely going to have to be spending their time acting as distractions so the others could flee.

There had to be some other angle to approach the problems they faced that she had not yet considered. It felt like they were admitting defeat even if they managed to run enough to get back here the next day after leaving. At the end of the day it all came back to nullifying the Mare of Shadows, and if she knew how to do that she would have already done it centuries before now.

She couldn't provoke the necromancer into revealing her secrets. If Sunset was close enough to do that then the demon was close enough to kill her. Sunset had no fantasies that even with her revitalized power that she would stand any real chance in direct combat with The Mare of Shadows, too many of her fellow Alicorns had already fallen, many that had attacked as a group.

Sunset looked at the newest Alicorn and wondered how short her life would be. Sunset had lived over seven thousand years, Midnight wasn't likely to reach forty, and if she did by luck reach the mirror again then not quite fifty, still very much a foal by Alicorn standards.

Water Shadow returned and landed beside her. The blue Alicorn looked out at their companions. The mothers were playing and talking with their foals. Perhaps that wasn't physical rest, but it was something that rested their spirits. The first few years had been a time of peace for them away from their worries, but now that the time to depart was growing near these types of moments were things to be treasured. They may all be dead soon, they were all be forged into weapons now, even the foals. The time of innocence was over, and the innocent moments that remained needed to be treasured.

"You worried so much that these ponies would become monsters," Water Shadow said beside her.

"No pony starts off a monster. We are born innocent; grief, heavy burdens, rage, and time can make any pony a monster though," Sunset replied as she continued to watch.

"The Mare of Shadows must have an interesting story for what made her the way she is then. I wonder what drove her from such innocence," Water Shadow mused.

"It would be a story I very much want to hear. It would at least give us some insight," Sunset grumbled. As she finished speaking her eyes went wide as a thought occurred to her. Perhaps there was something she had been ignoring that they could do. She wasn't sure if it was, but if it was..

"Shadow, would you consider Midnight's abilities a form of divination?" Sunset asked in a hushed voice.

"Most definitely, she is pulling knowledge that she should not normally have from the aether. I have already tried to see if she can pull anything else but stories of the past up, but it is useless. The most recent stories she has managed were still over five hundred years ago. She can't divine anything from the present or the future, and with our age there is little from the past she could say that we did not already know about. Her abilities are exceptional, but not at all helpful to our current circumstances," Water Shadow answered.

"There is one story she can tell us that we know nothing about, and it is far enough back that it falls within the realm of what she can do," Sunset said with determination.

"Do you think it possible? Even if it is it might not do us any good," Water Shadow said in a hushed breath, apparently realizing what Sunset was thinking.

"It is insight, and that is valuable. We lose nothing if she can't manage it. If the insight doesn't do us any good at least we will have solved at least one mystery that has haunted us the last seven hundred years," Sunset said.

"You are right. We need to have her try," Water Shadow agreed.

Sunset stood to her hooves and amplified the clearing of her throat to get every Pony's attention. When all if their companions paused in their actions she looked directly at Midnight.

"I have decided there is something else we need to have you try to do Midnight. Something you are the only one of us who can possibly do. I am not even sure if you will be able to do this, but it is important," Sunset told her.

"What can I do that any pony here but the foals cannot do?" Midnight asked curiously, and with a hint of eagerness. She must still be feeling desperate to feel useful.

"I need you to tell a story, a very specific story, one that you will have to reach deep into your magic like you did with your song to tell us," Sunset said.

"Um, okay, I suppose I could do that. What story do you want me to tell every pony?" Midnight asked in confusion.

"Tell us the story of how the Mare of Shadows came to be. It happened long enough ago that it falls within your abilities. I don't need to know anything about what she is doing or planning now, I need to know who she was before and what shaped her into the demon we now fight. Every pony has a story, and her story is one that no pony has been able to learn," Sunset explained.

Midnight looked back at her with wide eyes and mouth agape. Sweet Pea matched her expression. The foals were both looking up at Midnight, and perfect confidence in her mother could be seen in Dove's face.

"I..I don't know if I can do that or not. Even if I got anything my stories aren't very detailed," Midnight managed to say.

"I know, but you need to try. It might give us some chance of keeping your daughter safe and alive. I am just saying to try as hard as you can," Sunset said with lowered eyes.

"Um, if she can do this should the foals be listening to this? This isn't likely to be a nice story," Sweet Pea said with concern, gripping Quiet Word in her embrace. Dove was still looking expectantly at her mother.

Sunset considered it for a moment.

"Yes, they should hear it like the rest of us if Midnight is able to tell the story. This impacts them as much as the rest of us. They have the same right as the rest of us to know their enemy," Sunset decided.

"Mama can tell the story, Mama can tell any story," Dove said confidently.

Midnight looked down at her daughter's confident gaze and met it. Sunset couldn't tell what was going on in the younger alicorn's head and was mildly tempted to go reach out to her so she could get a better read on what Midnight was thinking. Peridot wasn't the only pony who could do such things.

"Dove, go sit with Quiet and Sweet Pea. I don't know what will happen when I try to do this. If it is like when I ascended I don't want to risk hurting you by accident with my magic. I don't know how safe it is yet," Midnight instructed her daughter.

"Okay Mama," Dove said obediently then flew over to the unicorn and thestral.

Midnight adjusted her position so she was facing all of the assembled ponies, but had some space between all of them and her. After another quick glance at each of them she sighed and closed her eyes, and every pony waited expectantly.

"There is something.." Midnight said after a moment. Her mark was glowing again, and Sunset could feel again the magic coming off her.

"About eight centuries ago their was a village named Tadpole," Midnight began. "In those days there were many competing lands across all the continent after the fall of the Twilight Realm, but Tadpole was a small unimportant place outside any of those lands."

Sunset sighed a little to herself that there were so much being said that she didn't need to hear. She knew about the political climate following the fall of the Twilight Realm. Unfortunately Midnight told stories, and stories had to give a setting.

"To this little village came an alicorn," Midnight continued. "Her name was Paleo. Paleo had been searching for many years for her reflection, who had been lost in the fall of The Great Tree. She had searched for signs of her reflection throughout many lands, and had dug tirelessly through the ruins of Harmony to find her, but her searches always came up empty. Now she came to this village to ask for help from an immortal pony that lived there, by the name of Pearlwort.

"Paleo went into the village and came to a tavern named Old Reed's. There she found the tavern keeper, the immortal thestral Pearlwort.

"Greetings, Pearlwort, I am glad to have found you, Paleo said to the thestral. Greetings to you as well, what brings you to this patch of nowhere? The thestral greeted in return."

Another element of Midnight's stories were they tended to oversimplify dialogue. Sunset expected that the conversation actually went a very different.

"I have read your book and wish to ask you a few questions about it, Paleo said.

"What kind of questions do you have? The thestral asked.

"In your book you said that you buried the body of Mera in the ruins of Harmony, Paleo said.

"This is true, the thestral replied.

"I have dug throughout Harmony looking for Patina, and have found many ponies' bodies, but never Patina's. I also never found the body of Mera. I don't think it is there. Why is it not? The alicorn asked.

"Perhaps you have not looked hard enough, the thestral suggested.

"There is not a single barleycorn of the ruins I have not checked in these last two hundred years. There is no body for Mera in Harmony, Paleo said.

"You should leave the dead be and not go looking for their bodies, the thestral snarled back at Paleo.

"It is not my intention to anger you, but you seem to not be telling the full truth, Paleo said calmly.

"The thestral grew quiet as she looked at Paleo. Come with me and I will show you the answer to your questions within the basement, but I warn you that you might not want those answers. I am giving you the chance to leave now, the thestral said to Paleo.

"What is in the basement? Is it the body of your dead wife? I don't understand the need for secrecy, Paleo said.

"You will see what and why if you follow me into the basement. Again I am giving you the opportunity to leave now rather than find out the truth, the thestral said.

"Lead on Pearlwort, I want to know why you are being so cryptic, Paleo said indicating the innkeeper should lead the way.

"You have been warned multiple times that you have the opportunity to just leave. You are responsible for the price of learning the truth, the white furred thestral said sadly and led Paleo into the basement.

"When they entered into the basement the thestral raised up a wing and it glowed, something that it should not have been able to do. A section of the wall opened up revealing a door. The thestral walked over to the door and opened it, gesturing for Paleo to enter ahead.

"When Paleo entered she wished to turn and run back out in shock at what she saw, but the thestral had entered in behind her and locked the door.

"On the far end of the secret room sat the body of Pearlwort. The thestral that she had been talking to was not Pearlwort, Paleo realized.

"You should not have gone digging where you did and should not have asked the questions that you did, the thestral imposter said.

"Who are you that has slain the unslayable and stolen her face? Paleo demanded.

"You have made another grave mistake now in reminding me of my sin, the impostor said with another snarl. I made a mistake, but I will find a way to make everything right again.

"How will you make it right? Paleo asked.

"The Elder Gods have made me an offer and long have I delayed in taking it. They shall give to me as final reword my precious Pearlwort back. I have only to serve and do one thing to show my commitment before I sign their contract, the other pony said.

"What abominable thing do they ask you do to before you sign? Paleo asked in fear.

"To slay another alicorn, but this time in cold blood. I am sorry Paleo, but you ask too many questions and I must have my precious Pearlwort back, the impostor said in a sad tone.

"I know your name monster. You are Chimera Wort. You should be dead. Pearlwort slayed you, Paleo cried in fear.

"It was I who slayed her in my madness. It is my sin and I must make it right. I am sorry that it must come to this, but there is no cost too high to get her back, Chimera Wort said.

"This is still madness, Paleo said.

"It is what must be done. Goodbye Paleo, I send you to meet your reflection, Chimera Wort said before her magic enveloped the alicorn, ripping the alicorn into bloody pieces.

"After Paleo was dead Chimera Wort summoned up a parchment with writing on it in blood. She read over the parchment then bit into her own hoof to make it bleed, and used her hoof to then sign the infernal contract. A great collar appeared around her neck after she finished signing with a silver bell hanging from it.

"I shall make this right. I will fix my mistake, the Mare of Shadows said to the body of Pearlwort."

Midnight then ceased speaking. The story was done. The young alicorn opened her eyes and started crying, likely having experienced much more than what she had recited. Dove rushed over to her and embraced her.

Sunset felt shock at knowing the truth. After all this time she finally knew who Ponykind's great enemy was, and what she wanted. She also realized that Pearlwort's book was not written by Pearlwort, but by her mad lover. There was another thing that made her feel horror in the pit of her stomach. Sunset had been the one to have Pearlwort confront Mera, and that meant this entire thing, all the death and terror and blood, was on Sunset's hooves.

Shadow also looked shocked to learn the truth. This was a pony they had once both called friend.

"Who is Chimera Wort?" Midnight asked with a shake voice.

Sunset looked at Shadow and lowered her ears. Shadow matched her expression.

"She was a crystal pony that started out innocent and happy. She loved Pearlwort more than anything else in the world, and was fanatical in her devotion to her lover. She had powers that were beyond what she could control. When she thought Pearlwort had died she went completely mad, and used those powers to steal all the magic from The Great Tree, destroying it. Then with all those powers she killed the pony that she thought killed Pearlwort, Pinkie Pie. No alicorn could overpower her, and we sent Pearlwort to try to stop her. We had thought that Pearlwort had killed her, but it seems that the opposite happened," Sunset explained sadly.

"And it seems that she sat for centuries after in secret, having assumed her dead lover's form, and even writing out her dead lover's account of events," Shadow said grimly.

"She is also Peridot's sister, which makes anything she might have done to Peridot that much more monstrous," Sunset observed darkly. "She has other names as well; Mera was what she preferred to be called after her marriage to Pearlwort, Chimera Wort is her married name. Her original name was Bibolous Bottom, but the world knows her by her original nickname. The name you would know for the Mare of Shadows is Biblo, and she was more dangerous than you could imagine before she signed her contract. She was once my friend, and Shadow's too, but madness took her."

Sunset sat quietly after finishing her explanation.

Oh Mera, why did you have to come back to haunt me?

Chapter 13: Resolve

Night Mist looked at Water Shadow's other two previous acolytes. Spiral Swirl and Sweet Eclipse were in much the same state that she was in, part metal and part flesh. Discord had saved them in the same fashion he had saved her, waiting until they had gone through much of the Bakery to the point they were finally out of sight of other ponies. They hadn't been given the mercy of having their necks broken first so they had felt every last painful cut along the way. They were not in the best of psychological states, far worse than she had been.

Her heart went out to the two, what had happened was unspeakably cruel. She understood that they couldn't have been saved any earlier, but this kind of trauma was not something a pony was likely to ever recover from mentally, even if their bodies were now fully functional. Spiral Swirl in particular had already been in an extremely bad state before getting mutilated and put back together. Night Mist couldn't even imagine what was going on in the silent stallion's mind.

"What did that monster do to us?" Sweet Eclipse sobbed. She was at least talking, that was better than Spiral Swirl. Hopefully if she was talking she could recover. Night Mist hated to have to be coldly utilitarian, especially given what these two were going through, but she needed these two to be able to assist in her plans.

"That monster saved your lives, and hopefully we can work together to save many more lives," Night Mist said.

"Night Mist, are you still you?" Sweet Eclipse asked her while still sobbing.

"I'm not sure what any of us are to tell the truth. I am as much still me as you are still you, that's the best answer I can give you," Night Mist answered sadly. She turned to the partially metal stallion next. "Spiral, are you able to talk? I know today has been very traumatic, but we have work to do."

"Work?" Spiral asked in a small voice.

"Peridot is now making deals with the necromancer," Night Mist growled. "It is time to change how things are done in Ocid. I am rallying the citizens to stand up and take our nation back. We need to put an end to perfectly good ponies being sent off to the Bakery, broken families, slave labor, and all the other injustices that Peridot has built into our society. We have the knowledge between us all, no camera can spot us, and we are much more resilient against Peridot's guards. We can lead Ocid to freedom."

"Make it so there is no more Bakery?" Spiral said in a voice that seemed almost pleading, with how much that place messed him up it wasn't surprising he was focused on it. They all had endured the horrors of the Bakery and knew it was something no pony deserved.

"Night Mist, I know how horrible the Bakery is.." Sweet Eclipse said with a shiver, "but we must be realistic. How will Ocid get enough food without it?"

"Sunset doesn't think the necromancer wants Ocid to perish for the time being. I intend to see if that is true by pushing to expand our farming. I don't think she will let us starve. I intend to push our farms towards the coast, that will provide a natural wall on one side. We can build new walls to the north and south as we go. I think the necromancer will refuse to breach the walls," Night Mist said.

"That is a monumental undertaking. What if you are wrong about the necromancer? Even if you are right that will require incredible resources and ponypower to do, all while being harassed by the undead. In the meantime we would still need to concern ourselves with feeding Ocid without the Bakery until when and if these new farms came to be," Eclipse said skeptically. At least she had stopped sobbing and was focusing, that was an improvement. Spiral seemed to have gained interest at the idea of the Bakery being shut down.

"Perhaps we only need to change what is going into the Bakery. Undead have meat on them, and there are always more of them. If we start putting undead through the Bakery perhaps we can slowly start chipping away at the Necromancer's forces. It would take many generations, but eventually she would run out of bodies to throw at us," Night Mist proposed.

"Would you believe that my mistress actually did look into the possibility of eating the undead? It doesn't work, their flesh makes ponies violently sick. It is not natural meat. Until, and if, you get extra farms running the Bakery remains necessary. I hate the fact, but it is true," Eclipse spat as she finished speaking.

Night Mist had not been aware that Water Shadow had actually conducted such research, though it made sense to have done. She was not willing to surrender the idea of shutting down the Bakery yet, but she needed Sweet Eclipse's assistance.

"We can explore other options, there has to be something better than the Bakery. We can find those answers together. Do you not agree that there is a lot that can be changed for the better? What about the limits on births from non-breeding mares? The way we treat unicorns? The extreme rigidness of the work demands? Forcing ponies into careers for life? The poor conditions in the factories? There is so much wrong beyond just the Bakery," Night Mist said passionately.

"I agree with you in all that, and yes, I think that there is much better administration could do to fix these things. I will help you in your little uprising, but we discuss the solutions together, and do nothing which might jeopardize all of Ocid. I won't have our citizens starving in the streets," Eclipse said evenly.

Night Mist looked to Spiral Swirl and saw him nod his head enthusiastically to her. That one would help her push for the elimination of the Bakery, she could tell. She would try to work out solutions with Eclipse, but between herself and Spiral they had Eclipse outvoted if Eclipse was unhappy with the solutions. Revolution first, then ironing out the details.

"I have been extremely busy since returning," Night Mist said. "I have already made contact with a few notable ponies in different areas of Night's Heart in just a few hours. I plan on moving into Crystal Heart tomorrow and start making contacts there. Cameras fail when they spot us, a strange side effect of our new bodies. While I start making contacts in Crystal Heart one of you can keep working here, and the other can go into Sire's Hallow and make contacts there. Then we can move on to other areas like Hallow Shades and Precipice. Within four days I want to have forces ready in every major region in Ocid."

"I say we should meet back at an area we encircle multiple times, Sire's Hollow is fairly centralized and would make the best area to work out of," Eclipse suggested, then sighed. "This is not what I pictured I would be doing when I woke up to go to work this morning."

"I can certainly concur with that sentiment, but it is what we have been pushed into doing. It is what we have a responsibility as decent ponies to do," Night Mist said with her own sigh. "We can meet up in the old warehouses there every twenty hours, starting twenty hours from now. I can give you both the lists of ponies I have already contacted and what has been discussed. Four days is our goal, and then we move to take down Peridot."

"That is moving very fast. You just went through the Bakery this morning, and you are already doing all of this in the same day as that. This might need more time and planning, Mom. Time to really think about what you are doing," Cotton Tail cautioned.

Night Mist considered her son silently without answering. She wondered if his caution came from actual consideration of what had to be done, or hope that she would abandon her course of action if she was given more time to consider. His concern for her was endearing, and no mother could hope for a more devoted colt, but his worry for her was going to cause problems. Perhaps she should find something to keep him occupied that would keep him away from any direct conflict. She didn't want him to get himself hurt trying to heroically protect her.

"We need to move quickly while Peridot is still wondering how to do anything without our mistresses to hold her hoof. There isn't time available to delay. Cotton, I want you to make preparations to provide food and shelter to any young that might be caught up in this should fighting break out. We need some pony looking out for the well being of our most vulnerable," Night Mist instructed.

"How do you intend for me to do that?" Cotton Tail asked in a defeated voice.

"That same mining area that we had our little battle in, it has a lot of side storage areas that are not in use, and you can't be tracked going into them. Start prepping those areas to receive refugees, foals and such. We will have ponies start sending you extra food to stockpile. Some might have to be going on partial rations for a bit, but we need to have some set aside for those who will need it and won't have access to the dispensers. I hate that we are still going to be feeding them meal bars, but for now that is what we have until we can get some proper fruits and vegetables growing," she answered him.

"If that is what you want, Mom," Cotton said in the same low voice.

Night Mist looked at him with sympathy. He was clearly unhappy with all of this, and still disapproving, but what needed to be done wasn't going to get done unless she took action now. She couldn't serve the purpose she had known her whole adult life anymore, but she could forge a new purpose. Ocid needed reform, and it wasn't going to come from Peridot, it would be through Night Mist. She had been reborn for this task, and soon all of Ocid would be renewed to what it should have been.

Sweet Pea watched her son as he was catching his dinner. He had his snake flying over the river ready to strike and bring him a fish. The colt would sooth the fish into sleep once it was caught and then finish it off. It was a simple, clean way of getting his food, and she was proud of him for finding a method that was distinctly him that worked.

She quietly lamented that birthdays were not something that really translated well when the day never ended. She owed him many birthday celebrations. She knew that she was about thirty now herself, and she didn't need to cast a spell to know that, she only needed to look at the sun which was now nearing when it would set. Time was about over, and they would be leaving very soon now.

She looked at her companions and thought about how different they all were since they first entered into this place. Midnight was now an alicorn, and if she survived would one day possess powerful magic. Right now Midnight was practicing trying to teleport things other than herself. She was getting better, but she needed more time.

Quiet had been but a fetus in her womb and now he was hunting for his own food. He had powers that hadn't been seen in ages. Sweet Pea was so proud at his ability to adapt himself to make his powers work for him in practical ways.

Dove had gone from a filly in a saddle bag to a preteen almost tall enough to look Sweet Pea level in the eye. Dove was definitely larger than most fillies her age, and would likely tower over Sweet Pea when she finally reached marehood, if she lived that long. They still didn't know what her powers or purpose was, and they might never now that time was about up. Dove was the hope for Sweet Pea's grandfoals if they survived, and Sweet Pea really wanted a chance to see grandfoals.

The other two alicorns looked much the same as they had, but she knew that they were changed too. Sweet Pea's current magical power far exceeded what they were capable of when they first got here, but now their power was astronomically stronger. She had watched in awe as Sunset had leveled in a matter of seconds a whole mountain like it was nothing not long ago. Sweet Pea was strong, but nothing like that kind of power. They had taught her so much about magic and how to use her growing power, and she was very grateful, but it wasn't yet enough.

She secretly yearned to have such power as they had. With that kind of power, and the skills she had developed, only the Mare of Shadows herself could be a threat to her and her friends. Peridot would have an impossible time trying to harm her now, but she wanted more. Quiet and the others were not yet safe, and still in mortal peril. Until she could protect them all she was not strong enough.

They all needed to be stronger. She didn't have any jealousy that her best friend had ascended and not her. She did wish that Midnight actually had the time to learn to use her new power, and grow in power to where she could match the two older alicorns. If there were enough powerful alicorns perhaps they could stand a chance of beating the Mare of Shadows. The necromancer was only able to rise because of the fall of Harmony and the weakening of the thirty alicorns that had been been around at that time, but what if there were more alicorns and they were strong like Sunset and Shadow were now? Surely the necromancer could be fought back then.

"Shadow? I have a question," she asked the blue alicorn.

"What do you want to know?" Shadow asked.

"You moved the mirror to your daughter's tomb. Can you move it again?" She asked.

"That is a good question. I don't know though. When I first moved it I was forced to have it shipped here and carried to this spot. My magic at the time was much as you saw it in Ocid, and the mirror disrupted it greatly. Now that my magic is stronger again so I am not sure if it will work as need be or not. I can see what you are thinking, it is an interesting idea," Water Shadow answered.

"You want to know if we can move it to Ocid," Sunset said doubtfully.

"Yes," Sweet Pea said more forcefully than she intended. "Think of what good it could do there. We could get access to much more food for every pony, we could raise up a full army of alicorns and fight against the necromancer. We could have our foals raised in this paradise instead of in a world of stone and metal. No more forced labor on farms, no more Bakery, and the ability to fight back against the necromancer."

"Expanding the number of alicorns greatly has risks," Sunset said in a stern voice. "A mad alicorn could devastate us. We would be dooming ourselves if such a thing happened, putting such a being into such a confined place like Ocid. You weren't even a thought yet during the Time of Madness, you don't know what kind of risk widespread Alicornhood brings. No offense to Midnight intended, but if Dove were to be killed by Mera, and Midnight was still alive, the first thing I would do is put Midnight down. I won't have another insane alicorn. Mera wasn't even an alicorn, and I should have done the same with her when it was clear she was unhinged when we assumed her wife dead, and see what we are dealing with now because I didn't. I want to give every pony a chance, it is at the core of who I am, but some things can't be left to chance. There has been too many mistakes made with beings of great power, mistakes that have cost untold billions of lives."

"You would kill my mama?" Dove all but screamed. It made every pony jump, it was rare for one of the foals to actually get angry, and Dove was clearly enraged.

"I would do what was necessary to protect lives, little one," Sunset said calmly. Sunset turned to Midnight. "Midnight, could you tell me with full honesty that you wouldn't go into an uncontrollable rage if something happened to your daughter? Could you promise me that you wouldn't just let loose your full power uncontrollably and just wreck havoc everywhere you went? A normal pony could be easily subdued, you are not a normal pony. And even if you don't have conscious control of your power you wouldn't need it to cause destruction just lashing out."

"I honestly can't say that you are wrong," Midnight said in a quiet voice and looked at Dove. The filly looked back at her mother with mouth wide open.

"Mama, don't say that! You are a good pony! You wouldn't hurt any other pony," Dove insisted.

"I can't say what I would do if I lost you. Maybe I would not hurt any pony, maybe I would hurt a lot of ponies. I don't want to even think about losing you, and I am terrified that I will," Midnight said with tears in her eyes. "She is right, Dove, it would be safer just to finish me off then, for the good of all. I am not sure I would want to live anymore anyway."

"It is not for the good of all, it is not good for you," Dove continued to rage. "And it doesn't matter anyway. You will keep me safe, you won't let anything hurt me."

Midnight looked at Dove with a stricken look. Sweet Pea's heart again went out to her friend. How is any pony supposed to tell their foal that they don't have the capability to keep them safe? How do you tell your foal it was very likely they wouldn't be alive much longer? Midnight opened and closed her mouth several times, but couldn't produce a response.

"Dove..I..I need a few minutes," Midnight choked out finally, and then quickly took off into the air and out of sight.

Sweet Pea quickly grabbed Dove up in her magic before the filly could go chasing after Midnight. The poor filly wouldn't be able to understand. She didn't know the horrors that lurked beyond in their homeworld. Sweet Pea really wanted to go chasing after Midnight herself, but she understood that her friend needed time to compose herself and get her emotions under control.

"You didn't need to be that harsh in from of the foals," she snapped at Sunset.

"They may not have reached physical maturity yet, but they may never. We are going to be all putting our lives back into jeopardy again, and they deserve to understand the weight of what is going to happen," Sunset said in the same infuriating calm voice. "Dove, you just do your best to keep yourself alive so we don't have to worry about what to do with your mother if you die. We are all going to do our best to keep you alive, along with keeping ourselves alive as well. The truth is our best might not be good enough."

"It won't be true! My mama will keep me safe and every pony will be alright," Dove asserted again.

"I think we are off track from the original discussion," Water Shadow interjected, not allowing Dove to continue with her declarations of faith. "To finish the original discussion let's just say that it will be taken under consideration if when we leave the mirror we manage to stay alive long enough to do so. I think it has merits, but Sunset is right that there is much to be concerned about. If we do anything it will have to be done with a great deal of care and planning. We cannot just have ascensions happening at a rate where we cannot properly care for the new alicorns, or having anyone mentally unstable ascending. Simply collecting food here over time can possibly lead to ascension, so even that aspect has to be carefully planned and controlled if we consider it."

"I don't understand still why the friend of mine who hated everything about alicorns for the vast majority of her life, to the point she refused to even acknowledge she was an alicorn herself most of the time, can now be alright with the idea of the creation of many new alicorns," Sunset growled over at her counterpart.

"I did spend six thousand years hating alicorns, that's true," Water Shadow said. "Then the fall of Harmony happened. Then I saw our world thrown into chaos and soon after that the rise of a being who wasn't even an alicorn who was slaying our ponies everywhere, to the point of driving two tribes to extinction and nearly extinguishing the alicorns as well. We have to take drastic measures to keep Ponykind alive now. We have a responsibility to do whatever can be done. If we continue as we are we are all dead, and we don't have safe options for actions to take. Raising up a new line of alicorns has its risks, but we have survived what came of that in the past. There was a lot of pain and death, but we survived as a species. We won't survive the Elder Gods as it stands. We don't have the power. This is our one chance at getting that power to hold on. I failed my ponies twice and I will not fail them again."

"Twice?" Sweet Pea asked, perplexed. She knew about Sea Swirl and the village, but what else did Water Shadow feel guilty for?

"Sunset isn't the only one with regrets about how she handled things in the past. I don't think I should have killed Mera like she did, I don't even think Sunset really would do that now in retrospect, but I should have been there when she was at her darkest hour and thought she had lost what was most important to her. I knew what she was going through, but didn't come to try to help her. And by the time any pony even realized Pearl was still alive Mera had gone insane with grief and rage. Now all the world is going to be swallowed by her madness," Water Shadow said sadly.

"Let's agree that we could have dealt with Mera any number of ways other than what we did, and it likely would have turned out better," Sunset said with a shake if her head. "Maybe you could have helped her, maybe I should have ended her, or perhaps done something to help her myself, but we can agree that letting her be left by herself was a fatally bad idea for every pony."

"She came to us disguised as Pearl and we never realized it. She cried so much about how she had killed her wife. She never said a name, just the term wife. I guess that makes sense now. Then we left her alone yet again, and she went on to serve the Elder Gods. Hindsight is a bitch," Water Shadow lamented with an uncharacteristic curse.

Sweet Pea tried to imagine anything that could make herself go that far off the deep end. They kept insisting that this Mera had been a good pony and friend, but it was kind of hard to see how that was possible. The Mare of Shadows was the worst of all monsters, and Sweet Pea couldn't contemplate the idea that the monster had been in any way like herself in the distant past. She understood grief and the toll that could take on a pony, but not to the point it would drive a pony to trying to exterminate of all life. How did the Mare of Shadows even expect her lover to survive or forgive her what she had done if she resurrected her? The necromancer was clearly beyond reason and sanity.

"If you all are set on trying to raise up more alicorns I won't fight you. I have a plan to give you a chance of accomplishing it, if that is the course you want to take," Sunset said in a barely audible whisper.

"What kind of plan?" Sweet Pea asked. They had all been preparing for being able to fight with the hope that they would only have to deal with the abomination and the necromancer would have taken off. Those preparations were useless if she were still right outside. Something about how Sunset spoke made Sweet Pea think that the golden alicorn had come up with a contingency for necromancer being there, but that it also would be something they wouldn't like.

"We should all be here to discuss this, it is unfair to Midnight to talk about this without her being present," Sunset said. "Quiet, go and bring Midnight back. Don't say anything that might upset her further, just tell her that there is a plan for our leaving that needs to be discussed."

"Why can't I go get Mama?" Dove demanded.

"Because she is in an emotional state and you might accidentally say something that might make that worse without meaning to. I am sure you don't want to do that to your mother. You two will get to sit down and talk with one another later, after she has had time to calm down. I know you are just a filly, but you need to start behaving like an adult, and that includes learning when it is best to talk about hard subjects. I wouldn't be disturbing her now if there weren't a great deal of urgency if we go with this plan," Sunset explained.

The filly looked down dejectedly, but nodded her acceptance back to Sunset. Sweet Pea hugged the filly to try to soothe her. It may be necessary, but it still felt cruel that her foalhood was being pushed to such a premature end. As Quiet took off in the direction that Midnight went, his snake flying close behind, Sweet Pea's heart took another lurch; Dove was not the only foal that was soon going to be forced into the world of adulthood too soon. Her poor colt was going to have to start being a stallion even if he was not even close to being that physically mature. Dove was at least almost the size of an adult, and therefore less physically helpless than Quiet. The world was so unfair.

They all waited patiently in silence for the two to return. After several minutes of this silent waiting the two did return. Quiet came back over to Sweet Pea and nuzzled close to her. Midnight had bloodshot eyes, but wasn't crying for the moment. Dove went back over to her mother, but simply nuzzled up close to her rather than saying anything. The young alicorn gave a small smile and wrapped her wing around her daughter. Then they all turned their attention to the eldest of them all.

"Now, much as I am uncomfortable with Sweet Pea's suggestion, I am forced to admit it has the best chances of producing a solution to our ongoing peril," Sunset said. "It requires there to be enough time for the mirror to be teleported to Ocid and then brought into the Dome along with the rest of you. I think pure curiosity over the emergence of another alicorn will be enough to get Peridot to let you in. She is as desperate as the rest of us, and will be eager to hear what you have to say."

"You are referring to us without including yourself," Water Shadow said in a sad voice.

"I am indeed," Sunset said in a voice that matched her counterpart. "You need time, which means some pony has to buy you that. I will be distracting Mera if she is still present outside. I do have some small hope I can still possibly reason with her, now that I know who I am dealing with, but that is a small hope. She is clearly insane, and if reason fails I may still be able to keep her preoccupied long enough for you all to get away and get back into Ocid. I am confident that Shadow is now strong enough that she can teleport you all and the mirror."

"You are telling us that you are going to be committing suicide then," Water Shadow all but snarled. "Distracting Mera can only end in her standing over your corpse in the end. We can all teleport to Ocid and get in together."

"Shadow, you know as well as I she could track the teleport if she is close by, and be on us before we could get inside Ocid's teleport block. The only thing that could stop her from doing this in time is if she is preoccupied. No, I cannot win against her, and will most likely die, but I can buy you all the time you need. I am the strongest of us, and the best fighter. That makes me the one capable of buying the most time, even if it is just a few minutes," Sunset said evenly, her face turned down towards the ground.

"We can find another way! You don't have to throw your life away," Shadow yelled at her oldest friend.

"If she is not close at hoof, and I only have to deal with her abominations, then I will follow behind and be alright. If she is close we have to accept that we aren't going to escape without some pony dying. I am making the choice that it will be me so it is only one of us instead of all of us," Sunset explained. She seemed so calm about discussing her own imminent demise.

"There has to be another way," Shadow now sobbed.

"Maybe, but we are out of time. We need to exit out while there are still minutes the mirror is still lit and holding our enemies at bay. While you all are getting to safety with it still lit up I will do my part to make that time count. She will find a way to circumvent the mirror if we are on the outside of it. She has to be too busy dealing with me. Again, she might have taken off and I will follow after you then, but we have to expect the worst," Sunset continued to explain.

"I don't know if I can stand to lose you. I have lost every other ancient pony," Shadow kept sobbing.

"If your plan works then you will have a new generation of alicorns to watch over, and you will know the care that they need. You won't be alone and you will still have purpose. I need to do my part and give that what chance it can have," Sunset said. The golden alicorn now looked at Water Shadow, in Sunset's eyes was pure resolve.

"I don't even know what to say," Midnight said. Sweet Pea's thoughts echoed that. Sunset made sense, but it was a really bitter truth that she spoke. Sweet Pea knew that she would be willing to do the same, if she had the capability. If she had the capability she would offer to do this herself instead, she was far less valuable than Sunset to the world. But she wasn't on that kind of level, not yet.

Sweet Pea steadied her resolve about ascension for herself and others. They would have a new alicorn race, and she would make sure that they grew strong and numerous enough to push back the necromancer and make her pay for her crimes. Sunset would not die in vain.

Chapter 14: Battle Between Gods

This is it, this is my final hour. I never thought that I would live so long, and never thought that despite that it would feel like such an abrupt ending.Sunset thought to herself as she looked at the cliffs that were the gateway back to her homeworld. In a matter of minutes she would be most likely confronting Mera, and by all probability dead minutes after that.

She looked at her companions. Shadow was still holding out hope that Sunset would somehow survive. Sunset wanted to hope that, she wanted to hope that somehow even if Mera was out there that she could bring her old friend to reason and reform her. She had reformed many a villain in her day and was a reformed villain herself. Not all could be reformed though, and chances were exceptionally slim any such miracle would play out today. Nor was she going to suddenly find a deus ex machina to save herself and the day. No, today she was going to sacrifice her life so others might live, and maybe someday accomplish what she would fail at today.

This didn't mean that Sunset wasn't going to try her best with Mera. The chances of reformation or overcoming the necromancer were slim, infinitely slim, but she would do all that she could to try to make them happen. She would try to reason and fight to the full of her ability. Mera had been good, once, there was always some slim hope that she could be good again, even after all that she had done.

Sunset had never really believed in any form of afterlife. She had always asserted as much to any pony that asked her about it. Now faced with her final hour she couldn't help but feel a little religious. Would she be reincarnated as some new foal? Would she spend eternity in some paradise? Would it be eternal nothing? Would she even be aware of that nothing if it were? Perhaps she would just endlessly relive her own life over and over again with no variation, like a recording played over and over again, unaware that it has played itself infinite times before. If she were reborn would she be born remembering the last moments of this life only to have those memories quickly slip away like most dreams? She would find the answers out soon enough.

She looked at the sky now. The sun would set in a few short months here and whatever demonic forces below would come out. That evil Shadow assured her could nor reach beyond the mirror. Sunset hoped that her friend was right and they weren't delivering monsters into Ocid. That, however, was a worry for the ponies who would live beyond today, not her. She was about to face her final battle, it was time for others to face the future without her.

"If anyone has anything they want to say to me, say it now. There will likely never be another chance," Sunset said out loud.

"I want to thank you, Mistress, for what you are doing for us. I won't ever forget you, or all that you have done for me and my daughter," Midnight said, clearly trying to hold back tears.

"I thought we were well beyond that mistress address," Sunset said with a smile. "You're my friend, and you're an alicorn yourself. You might have acolytes of your own one day. I hope that they make you as proud as you made me if you do. I hope you pass on all I've taught you, and hope that in time you'll be far wiser than I ever was. If I have any final words of wisdom for you it's that you should never be afraid to admit you've made mistakes, but you shouldn't let fear of making mistakes keep you from trying your best to make a difference."

"I'll remember that, Sunset," Midnight said glumly.

"You act like you've already died. You might still succeed," Sweet Pea said.

"I'm a realist. I know what's almost certain to happen, we all do. If some by some wild chance I survive then we can all celebrate that together, but we have to accept that isn't what's likely to happen," Sunset said. "I suppose I owe you some final words too. I know you long for ascension and the power to protect the ones you love. This plan is to protect an idea you hatched. Don't let power go to your head. More power isn't always the answer. Your talent involves child-rearing, you may become a mother figure to a new generation of alicorns. I ask that you be a good mother, and care for all of them as your own foals. And if you should ascend and live for eons then to view all ponies the same. However, if you fail to ascend please don't become bitter, but be happy for what you can accomplish."

"I'll do my best to do that. I intend to see multiple ascensions within one year outside the mirror, and I intend to see ponies being able to enjoy all of this place. Ponies deserve to have at least a few happy years without worry. Thank you for doing what you can to give that to them," Sweet Pea said in a resolute tone.

Sunset nodded in acknowledgement of Sweet Pea's words then turned to gaze at Water Shadow.

"I don't know what to say to you," Shadow said. "You are my oldest and dearest friend, you stuck by me when every other alicorn turned their backs on me. I might have been banished to Tarturus if not for you. The thought of losing you is like losing a large part of myself."

"We've been through a lot together over the centuries. Though I have to confess, that first century together where we just sat staring at your daughter's grave day in and day out without sleeping was likely the most boring century of my life," Sunset said with a smirk.

"It meant a lot to me that you did that, though I don't think I need to tell you that. Was it really a century? I never really bothered to find out," Shadow inquired.

"One-hundred and four years actually, and I don't regret spending them with you. Sometimes I think all the napping I have been doing in recent years is my body finally deciding it needs to make up for a century of no sleep. But I know the real reason you don't want me to die," Sunset said, letting some mirth into her voice. It was felt good to try to have one last lighthearted moment.

"And what reason might that be?" Shadow asked with a raised brow.

"You aren't ready to be the oldest living pony. Really, it isn't such a bad title, it's rather dignified," Sunset said with a smile.

Water Shadow just stared at her for a long moment with a serious look, then her composure collapsed and she started chortling. It really wasn't that funny, but circumstances made emotions run high, and ready for any form of release. Sunset laughed along with her, and when the two stopped laughing tithe embraced one another.

"I'm going to miss you so much, I won't ever forget you, no matter how many ages may pass," Water Shadow said quietly.

"If there's an afterlife I'll be waiting patiently to greet you when you finally come to join me," Sunset said.

Shadow released her with clear reluctance and went to sit aside. Sunset gave her friend one last smile and then turned her attention to the two goals.

Quiet came over and gave her a silent hug, he still had that snake of his curled up in his mane, but the snake didn't seem to mind so she didn't mind the snake. Dove came up behind him and just sat silently while her fellow foal finished his hug. When Quiet had hugged enough he released and walked quietly back to his mother who hugged him as well. Dove watched him the whole time and then turned and looked up to Sunset.

"I'm sorry I can't do anything like you wanted. I feel like this is all my fault. If it weren't for me no pony would be here, and I feel really bad about that. I want to be able to do something that could help, but I don't seem to have any special talent or anything. I'm just useless and ponies get hurt because of me. It might really just be better if I just gave myself over to the bad pony so she could leave every pony else alone," Dove said in her most serious sounding voice.

Midnight seemed torn between wanting to scold her filly for even suggesting such a thing, pride in her filly for willingness to sacrifice herself, and not wanting to interrupt this moment. Sunset gave the mother a smile to let her know she would deal with this, and turned her attention back to Dove.

"Don't discount that you're very special. We haven't figured out what your cutie mark means yet, and I'm disappointed I won't be around to see it, but it clearly means something. We're going to make sure you have the time to find that out. I'm a very old pony, you can't even imagine how old, and I've lived with more good parts of my life than bad. Everything passes away in time, even immortal alicorns. Your time isn't here yet, and hopefully won't be for a long time. Your mother needs you and loves you dearly, promise me that you'll be a good daughter to her," Sunset said.

"I promise, I just don't see what is so special about me that other ponies have to die. I don't want any pony to die," Dove said, now trying to hold back tears.

"It is up to you to find that out. But remember your life is precious just like every other life, and all lives should be protected. Today I'm going to do what I can to protect not only you, but all ponies. If Mera was to get you she would still try to hurt the rest. I'm the one who needs to face her, because I'm the only one who can occupy her long enough to give the rest of you a chance. Be strong for your mother, little one," Sunset said in a sympathetic tone.

"I'll be strong for my ma..for my mother," Dove said in a quiet voice. The change of term was a little heartbreaking, it was a traditional sign that foalhood was over. No pony only twelve years old should have to admit their foalhood was over. Dove retreated back to her mother after that and the two embraced, with Midnight giving her daughter an additional kiss on the head. Sunset looked at them wistfully for a moment.

Little things could set off big events or grow into mighty forces, hopefully someday Dove would be one of those things for the good of ponies. That day was not yet today though.

Sunset sighed and looked back at the cliff. She was about to face off against another one of those little things which had grown. She had beaten Mera with ease over a thousand years ago when they dueled, but Mera had grown much in the ensuing years in power. Victory was not likely to come this time for Sunset. Sunset was stronger as well, but no where near the strength to which her once friend had grown. Hopefully Sunset's death would count for something.

"We've all said our goodbyes, it's now time to go back home," Sunset declared, and after giving them her final command, stepped forward into the cliff to the bright light of the mirror.

They all exited out and Sunset found that she was almost pushed to the ground by the others coming behind her. She looked behind her and Midnight gave an embarrassed blush as the offending pony that had slammed into Sunset's rear. Sunset waved it off quickly, it wasn't really Midnight's fault, they could have waited minutes and it would still seem like they were coming in on her tail due to the differences in time flow.

Every pony kept silent. The mirror was still brightly lit, and Sunset spread her magical senses to the outside. It took her only an instant to confirm that there were now three of those abominations out there instead of one, but they were of little consequence. The abominations were so much weaker than her at the current time that they were basically gnats. The more serious part was they were not alone, Mera was out there as well, there was no hiding that mass of power. Sunset lowered her ears, this fight was happening, and she knew what the result would be, there was no final salvation from it. Mera was likely fully aware that they were on this side of the mirror again, just waiting for them to exit back out or teleport so they could be chased.

Sunset gave Shadow the signal that indicated that Mera was near and braced herself for combat. The plan was for the Water Shadow to start working on a teleport once Sunset cleared the tomb, and if she needed to have more power to overpower whatever disruption the mirror caused she could draw power from Midnight and Sweet Pea. The two younger mares had been versed on how to channel their power into Water Shadow if it came down to it.

"I feel you lurking down there, come on out and let's finish this up. You can't escape me," Mera called down to them.

"I'll be right out, I think we are long overdue for a talk, Mera," Sunset called out.

The resulting silence spoke volumes. Sunset had caught Mera by surprise by knowing who she really was. Hopefully that would either make Mera curious, or at least a little less focused. That would buy some more time, and perhaps distract the necromancer from what Water Shadow was doing down below.

Sunset spread her wings and quickly flew up the ramp. She said a silent apology to Water Shadow as she blew the monument stone out of the way. Mera had apparently recovered the tomb at some point in the last few hours. It was saddening that the stone was being reduced to rubble after all these years. Shadow would understand, but it would definitely hurt her feelings all the same.

Sunset exited out into the light of the actual sunset. The abominations were all sitting near the entrance, but didn't try to attack her. They simple sat waiting for direction from their mother. Mera never had any foals of her own as far as Sunset knew, it seemed even more sickening that these things thought of Mera in that fashion.

Mera herself sat a short distance off, just watching silently. She was cloaked in shadow and flame. Her eyes were pools of green flame and were locked onto Sunset. It was impossible to tell anything about what she was thinking other than she definitely had something going on in her corrupted mind. Sunset brought herself in for a landing a short distance before Mera and sat down like they were about to have a casual conversation. Hopefully they would start off with just conversation, and conversation was all that would happen. It was a small possibility, even if not likely.

After a moment of silence the shadow and flame withdrew from Mera, and what was revealed was the pony she once was; a simple pink crystal pony mare, with a bright yellow mane, and a sponge for a cutie mark. A simple red collar with a silver bell hung at her neck. One of the least threatening looking ponies you might ever look at. Looks were extremely deceiving in this case.

"So, you know who I am. What in that other world gave you that information?" Mera said calmly.

"Actually it was Midnight, mother to the filly you seem intent on killing. She has some divination ability, and was able to tell us vaguely about the day you signed your demonic contract, but not much else. It was a major shock to find out who has been tormenting Ponykind all these years. I thought you dead, and even if living it was not something I would have attributed to you," Sunset replied back as calmly. They could have been talking about the weather.

"That's interesting to hear, I'll definitely want to get my hooves on her and absorb her magic into myself. I could use a little bit of divination ability. You wouldn't happen to have learned what the filly could do while you were in that other world would you?" Mera asked casually.

"Not a clue, I was hoping you would tell me to tell the truth. All this trouble over a filly. I'd be disappointed in not learning why there was so much trouble over a filly," Sunset answered.

"Unfortunately not, my masters simply insist on it. I do intend on doing my best to get those answers before I finish her off though. I too would be very disappointed not to learn. I'm not on an exact time limit with this, but there's some level of urgency before I have Grogar breathing down my neck. I prefer not to have him in possession of my bell, and I think all of you would prefer that as well. Grogar would use me in ways that are far less merciful and kind than I'm doing," Mera said, eyes still locked on Sunset.

"I only got part of the story about how you went over to the Elder Gods from Midnight. I know you seem to think they will resurrect Pearl for you. I wonder if you have some personal vendetta against your lover if you want to deliver her into a dead world by herself. It seems a cruel thing to do," Sunset let her show just a small sneer as she spoke.

"I have a lot more planned that you don't see, Sunset. I'll make everything right in the end, it's just a long bloody path till then," Mera said. There was an actual hint of sadness in her voice.

"Do you actually think that if you do manage to have Pearl brought back to life that she would accept that kind of price paid for her life?" Sunset said critically.

"I intend on ending myself soon after her resurrection so I won't have to face her. I do have plans to assure that she'll have a peaceful world with a bright future," Mera explained.

"Yeah, a dead world is definitely peaceful, but I think you and I have very different definitions of bright," Sunset couldn't hide her contempt this time around.

"You'll be dead soon, so I suppose there is no harm in telling you my full plan. I've been storing genetic material and souls away for many years now. Some of the civilizations that rose from the Twilight Realm's ashes were very advanced, more advanced than Ocid. I have the technology to reboot life on this world once everything is dead and gone," Mera said with an almost dreamy tone.

"Why wipe it all out to start with, seems counterproductive," Sunset snorted as she said it. She had to keep Mera talking, this was buying time.

"You don't understand the Elder Gods, they aren't like us. Do you know what this world is to them? It is a place to harvest food. They feed on death and suffering. I have absorbed some of their nature into myself, just like I absorb everything else I come in contact with, so I know. When this world is completely dead except for the acolytes they will abandon it and move on, but until then they'll do nothing but continue to push for death and suffering until there is nothing left to feed on. They must abandon this world, which means it must die, only then will it be safe for life, and I'll reboot it then. This is the only way, but I must be the last acolyte standing to do it, and every other living thing must die," Mera said with lowered ears.

"So you see yourself as some sort of hero who is liberating this world from the Elder Gods?" The shock in Sunset's voice was not faked. This was pure insanity, but she could see the warped logic of it.

"Not a hero, definitely not that. I'm a monster, and I can't paint that in any positive light. I simply do what must be done. I admit it wasn't my original plan, at first it was just to resurrect Pearl, but I was completely mad with grief when I made that agreement. When I learned the Elder Gods' true nature, and spoke with Pinkie Pie, I forged this plan with Pinkie. This world will live, after it dies," Mera said with conviction.

"Pinkie is alive? I thought you killed her?" Sunset said with suspicion.

"Pinkie is dead, but is now a ghost. Isn't it ironic that the one alicorn I really, really wanted to suffer more than any other is the one I'm stuck unable to hurt any further? I guess Pinkie Pie got the last laugh," Mera laughed bitterly.

"Is there nothing that will turn you from doing this? There's no soul beyond reformation," Sunset pleaded.

"If you gave me another way to make the Elder Gods leave and give me back my precious Pearl then I would turn away gladly. Believe me when I say I have nothing but shame and guilt for what I do. I do what I must, and I'll make everything right in the end," Mera sighed. The necromancer got to her hooves and looked sadly at Sunset before continuing.

"Thank you for this talk, it's nice to just get everything out in the open. Your friends will be glad that you have bought them so much time. I know you're just stalling. I give you your delay as a last gift, but I'll still finish off that pegasus soon enough. Peridot will turn her over to me. If you wish to list enslaving my own sister to my list of sins, don't bother; I curse myself enough for it. It's time to see what you can do with all that extra power I feel in you. I give you the opportunity to strike first; not that it will matter. I've looked forward to ending you for being the one who sent Pearl to her death against me. The time has come," Mera said in a resigned tone.

Sunset did not hesitate. She teleported herself far into the sky and powered her horn for the biggest magical blast that she had ever prepared. She let loose the blast in a wave of blinding light and it came down on the bored looking crystal pony with the heat of the sun, and drilled deep into the ground.

Within a moment the crystal pony emerged from the newly formed crater, straight into the sky. She had no wings but clearly had no need of them. She was in Sunset's face in a matter of milliseconds and quickly smacked Sunset down to the ground with a single blow of of foreleg. Sunset impacted the ground with such force it actually caused a shock-wave, and would have shattered every bone in a normal Pony's body to dust. Sunset was no normal pony, she was an alicorn at the height of her power.

Sunset quickly teleported from the spot without even bothering to get to her hooves first. She appeared next to the crystal Pony in the air and tried to return the favor with her own foreleg. Unfortunately, when it connected Mera didn't even flinch, and just gave Sunset a wicked smile.

"Oh, this makes me nostalgic. I think you did the same thing to me last time we dueled. Just sat there and took the blow like it was nothing. How does it feel to know you're completely helpless against an opponent in a fight?" Mera laughed.

The crystal pony then struck Sunset again, sending the alicorn shooting through the air like she had been shot out of a canon. While Sunset was still hurdling through the air Mera teleported directly over her and landed another blow that sent Sunset down to the ground in another continent shaking blow.

Brute force wouldn't work here. Sunset quickly took back to the air and began sprinting through the air. In her wake she sent her magic down into the continental shelf and began raising cliffs and volcanoes as she went to delay the crystal pony's chase and deny her line of sight for a teleport.

"Oh, an obstacle course! It has been so long since I've run one of these. You really are making this a trip down memory lane," Mera's voice echoed out across the region.

Sunset wasn't intent on just throwing obstacles in Mera's path. She curved her path and made the new rising volcanic range turn with her. Mera gave chase straight through the newly raised cliffs like she was punching through wet paper. Sunset was pretty sure that Mera was also being bombarded by magma, it didn't seem to make much difference, Mera was just toying with her and showing off.

Let her do that. I have a surprise coming for her. Sunset thought.

She kept on curving with her course, making a massive bowl of a valley that stretched for hundreds of furlongs all around. She had to keep moving for a few more moments before she could position herself for her biggest attack.

Sunset lost track of the sound of Mera smashing through rock and grew worried. Was Mera waiting to ambush? Had Mera figured out what she was planning on doing?

The alicorn was just reaching the jagged remains of the first cliffs she had raised when the crystal pony appeared again and struck her hard from the side, sending Sunset rocketing into the dead center of the newly formed valley.

Sunset righted herself with unnatural speed and let loose another blast of impossible heat. The crystal pony vanished from the spot and the heat impacted the newly risen cliffs. The cliffs did not shatter, or melt, they were turned to glass by the sheer heat of the blast.

The crystal pony appeared far above Sunset and unleashed her own blast of power down on the alicorn before the alicorn could flee. The pain was like nothing Sunset had ever felt before, but somehow her supernatural body held out against the abuse.

As she tried to rise from the new glassy crater that she was the center of a hoof came down hard on her horn and shattered it.

In the second time in as many seconds Sunset felt a new level of pain she never thought it possible to feel. She tried to lash out with her magic, but with her horn broken it just fizzled and popped. That same hoof came down hard on each of her wings in quick succession, shattering those bones as well. Sunset had already endured blows that could shake the ground with their force, but these blows were far stronger.

"Well, that was a nice little distraction. I'm a little disappointed to tell the truth. I expected to get at least a scratch from fighting an alicorn of your power, but it seems I overestimated the power of alicorns once again. Any final words?" Mera asked.

"Yeah, just one," Sunset panted through the pain.

"And what would that be?" Mera asked with what seemed actual curiosity.

"Gotcha!" Sunset yelled as she looked at the thing she had been summoning forth as she made this valley.

Mera turned around just in time to see a massive asteroid envelop the whole of her vision in the sky.

"You've got to be kidding," Mera said in a perturbed voice, just before the massive fiery rock collided with the ground where they were.

Sunset was sure that the blow of that would at least finish herself off, but it seemed that she was going to live through it. Mera had erected a shield around the two of them that had managed to sustain the blow. Sunset coughed as Mera did something to contain the fallout of the explosion. After a few moments they simply lay in a mass of devastation, but Mera had apparently done something to prevent the ash and dust from exiting into the air.

"That was reckless and stupid," Mera snarled as she pushed her hoof down hard on Sunset's neck.

Sunset tried to get out a reply but couldn't manage to get anything out. She had exhausted herself and had tons of pressure down on her throat. She closed her eyes and waited for Mera to just finish it.

And she kept waiting. After a long moment the hoof was withdrawn from her throat and Sunset opened her eyes to see what Mera was now up to. Likely planning some horrible mutilation to drag this out, no doubt.

"You dropped your mental guards when you were doing all that. Did you realize that? I got to see into your mind and see what your friend's plans are. The whole lot of you are more reckless than I thought, and are going to do away with all hope for life by my plan or any other plan they may concoct. Congratulations Sunset, by virtue of being a giant bloody screw up you're getting a reprieve for today. We're going to have another talk now, and you and I are going to figure out how to fix the mistake your friends are about to make before this world is doomed forever," Mera said with a snarl.

Chapter 15: Never Right

The necromancer wanted to hurt something, but she had already beaten the crap out of Sunset and needed to keep her alive for the moment. Taking her rage out on her hunters would be equally unproductive. How could these ponies be this incredibly stupid? She didn't have time to deal with this, since that Pegasus was back in this world that became the priority again.

"Sunset, can you please explain to me what was going through your head when you let them come up with that insane plan of theirs. I am getting a read on it from you, but I must be missing something because you couldn't possibly be that bloody stupid," Mera said with a snarl.

Sunset gave off a groan and a cough, but didn't answer. Mera sighed and sent healing magic into the Alicorn to repair any internal injuries.

"Now again, please give me some sort of explanation about how you did something so stupid," Mera said as if lecturing a child.

"It seems the best chance of actually defeating you, it is worth the risk," Sunset groaned.

"Take a look around you right now. Look at the devastation, this is with me containing the damage! What would an army of such alicorns end up doing? We wouldn't have a planet left to stand on. It doesn't matter if you overcome me, there is nothing left to live on. If the planet was not completely annihilated it would be completely incapable of supporting life. I might be trying to wipe out all life, but I do intend to get it going again after. I have to have a place to start life over again though that can possibly support life! You would definitely get the Elder Gods to leave, because everything would be dead, and nothing would ever be able to come here again," Mera said, gesturing all around the impact crater from the meteor.

"You could always just give up and leave Ponykind alone so they don't attempt it," Sunset said snidely.

"Not an option, as I said, Grogar would make me do it if I just stopped. He would seize my bell and force me to carry out my contract if I tried to abandon it. If that wasn't an issue you would still find yourself at the mercy of some other acolyte in short order trying to wipe you out. It is better my way, where there is a chance of Ponykind being reborn. Again I need to have an intact planet to do that though. You wouldn't even manage to kill me with this, I am immortal as long as my contract is incomplete, nothing can break my bell," Mera snarled, then spit.

"You killed Pinkie Pie, I am sure some pony can figure out how to kill you," Sunset observed.

"Pinkie Pie had a contract to destroy the Tree of Harmony destroyed. When I tore it down her bell became vulnerable, she died because she completed her contract, it doesn't matter that I was the one who did it. It was done, and she was vulnerable. If there is any pony alive, other than me, on this world I am pretty much invincible. I intend to bring ponies back after the threat of the Elder Gods is past and can finish myself off as well. I need them to lose interest and every single other acolyte dead first though. But we need the world to actually be here. Even if you were to come up with some other fairy tale way of defeating the Elder Gods, me, and my fellow acolytes you still need a planet, you stupid idiot!" Mera raged.

"So why are you busy yelling at me instead of doing something about it?" Sunset said with a pained groan.

"Because I can't get near that damned mirror, nor anything I make. I need somepony who can get near it to either destroy it, or get them to give up that plan of action. You are what I have at the moment, as I doubt I can have Peridot get it done without screwing up. I do have love still for my sister, believe it or not, but she can't be counted on to accomplish anything important," Mera said with a sigh.

"I am not allying myself with you," Sunset said angrily.

"It isn't so much an alliance as it is more dealing with a mutual problem until it is resolved, a short term agreement at best. I have my agendas, and you have yours, and they don't line up on much at all. We both urgently need to deal with this problem and we are the only ones who are even aware of what is at stake. I am going to be spending my time puzzling over how to capture that filly you are so intent on protecting, and you are going to deal with this mirror problem because there isn't crap I can do other than hope you can bring them to some semblance of sense. You get to live a while longer, take your gift and make what you will of it," Mera said. She was disappointed that she wasn't going to be able to kill Sunset now, but facts were facts. The mirror needed to go, and she couldn't get near it.

"How do I know you are just bluffing to get rid of a potential threat to yourself? I have no reason to believe you about anything you have said," Sunset said.

"Fine, you want to have proof, I can give you the best I can give. I am dropping my mental defenses. Go ahead and read my mind, I haven't made any plans yet on how to deal with the Pegasus, so I am not putting any plans at risk. Everything I told you is true. Go ahead and read my mind to your heart's content. I don't even care if you dig around for all my deepest darkest secrets. I have already told you everything that matters about anything," Mera responded with a defeated sigh.

Mera dropped her guard on her mind and let Sunset in, she still had her hoof down on the Alicorn and that was all that was needed to make the contact. She really didn't feel any need to hide anything from Sunset, but even after all this time she did have some dread about what kinds of things Sunset would see. There was a lot Mera could feel guilty about, and with Sunset knowing who she was this felt like a confession of all that guilt to a pony who had once been a friend. Mera did regret that things had to come to this, but she knew what she had to do to make up for what she had done to Pearl, and ensure ponies could live their lives in the future without the Elder Gods or herself being around anymore.

She could feel Sunset feeling around, and just waited patiently, silently grateful that the Alicorn was even doing it. She had no other options than hope the Alicorn would do what needed to be done. She wasn't lying about that either. Time was of the essence and the any hope for the future depended on it. Sunset's death would have to be delayed further, possibly centuries after this escape if Sunset avoided her well, but it was a price worth paying. She was a patient mare after all.

"A lot of things I would rather not have seen in there, but you aren't lying," Sunset finally said with a resigned groan. "I am still going to work for a way to either stop you or reason with you, but you are right about the threat a large number of super powerful alicorns. I had some idea of it already myself, but had hoped that you could be overcome before it got to that point. I see I am mistaken."

"I am glad you see reason. I will heal you up and send you on your way. Deal with it however you think best. We can get another fight in the future, though it will end much the same way," Mera said, and began channeling the magic to repair Sunset's broken horn and wings.

When she finished she released Sunset from being pinned down. The alicorn stood up and looked at her with sad eyes.

"Is there no other path that we can take with you? I know from what I felt in you that you truly don't want to have to do this. The good pony you were is still in there. The Elder Gods can be opposed and you could help us," Sunset pleaded.

"Even if we could think of some other way I have a contract that I am slave to. Grogar can force me into completing that contract if he gets my bell. And while it exists there is nothing I can do to stop him. You could invalidate my contract, but that seems to be an impossibility. Feel free to think on it. If you think of something that can do that I will at least listen, not necessarily agree, but will listen. I know where to find you in the dream realm, and will be in touch. I even promise not to do anything other than talk to you in dreams. For now things aren't going to change, but I do want to keep Ocid alive as long as I can to put myself in the best position against the other acolytes. Perhaps a compromise can be reached that can keep me growing in strength and keep Ocid stable for the time being. We both want this world free of the Elder Gods, it is just I am the only one who has a method to do that," Mera said, lowering her ears.

"I am sorry about Pearl. I didn't think I was sending her to her doom against you," Sunset said sympathetically.

"I am just looking for a pony other than myself to blame. It is my sin and not yours. When the time comes to finish you I will give you a quick merciful death," she replied.

They sat in an uncomfortable silence for a long moment afterwards. Neither wanted to look at the other. There was no hatred between the two, just regret.

"Go, time isn't like what I saw you experience in that other world. Do what you need to do, and I shall as well," she finally told the alicorn.

Sunset gave her another sad look before lighting her newly restored horn for a teleport.

"Goodbye old friend, I hope I can find a way to make that term true again," Sunset said, and then teleported away.

Mera sat for another long moment and let herself shed the tears that she had been holding back. Then she rose to her hooves and recovered herself in shadow and flame. Damn her low levels of bliss. It was time to get back to work.

Peridot had been questioning her own sanity as of late. She had been making deals with the Mare of Shadows, having her dreams invaded, and ordering a foal given over to an unspeakable evil. These were not proud actions, but ones that she thought she had to make at the time. In the last few hours she had started questioning whether she could have done things differently. Unfortunately those thoughts had to be put on hold because the ponies who had fled Ocid were even crazier than her apparently.

"Please tell me again what you just told me. I am certain I must have heard that wrong," she said to her guard captain.

The crystal pony stallion fidgeted in place, afraid to look at her directly. He was clearly afraid of becoming a target for her anger. She was angry, but not at him. There was no need to kill the messenger.

"Water Shadow, an unknown alicorn, a unicorn, a half grown thestral colt with a snake, and what looks like a young pegasus mare are standing outside the main gate with a massive glowing mirror demanding entrance," the captain said shakily.

"That's what I thought you said, but I am still trying to fathom how and why," she said with a growl.

"I don't know, Ponymother," the captain said with a gulp.

Questions swirled in her head. Why had Water Shadow returned? Who were these other ponies? Where was Sunset Shimmer? And where had they found a pegasus mare? They had left just yesterday with a pegasus, but that was a filly. Fillies didn't turn into mares in less than a day's time. This had to be another pony. Was there another alcove of Pony life out there somewhere other than Ocid? There had to be if Water Shadow was showing up now with a Pegasus mare.

"Computer, put outside the front gate on main wall screen, and give me audio, but just audio in for now," Peridot commanded the computer.

"Bringing up designated camera feed, and activating audio receptors. Ocid Survives," the computer acknowledged.

She looked at the screen. That was clearly Water Shadow, and she was pretty sure that was the fugitive Unicorn that had left the city with her, though something seemed a little off. The Thestral colt had a snake of all things with him, she didn't think there were any snakes left in Ocid or in the Dead Lands. The Pegasus had white fur that reminded her of the foal's fur, but her mane was primarily yellow, and she seemed to have some yellow tips to her primary feathers as well. Something else seemed off about her though.

"Computer give me displays of each of the ponies' flanks on the secondary screen, magnified by eighty percent. I want to see their cutie marks. Do image correction as needed to give me a clear picture. Shut down your personal audio responses unless there is a priority alert, for the time being," she commanded. Even she got sick of hearing Ocid survives constantly.

The second screen came on and she had to sit down from the shock of what she saw. That was clearly Dove's cutie mark on that mare's flank. That didn't confirm that this pony was Dove, as ponies could have the same cutie mark, but it seemed unlikely another pony would have that particular mark. Of course it could just be a common mark for Pegasus ponies in general if there were more of them. She needed more information.

"Computer, display full body image of the pegasus," she ordered.

The image of the cutie mark was replaced with the image of the full pony. Looking at the Pegasus now she realized for the first time that this wasn't in fact a mare. This was just a really big filly, not far off from puberty. Peridot had been like this in her youth. She couldn't remember it all that well, but she had her family photos uploaded in the computer and had seem plenty of images of herself when she was a filly to recognize the makings of another titan among ponies.

Peridot was doing her best to try to think things through, which wasn't her typical response, but recent events had made her think she needed to do more considering before taking action. She felt like she was over thinking this, but that could be just the fact she wasn't used to taking this long to make a decision. There was still other things to be examined before she did anything. She would force herself to look at all the information, even if all her natural instincts said to just take action. She was going to do this right, Ocid needed her to do better.

She didn't think there was much to be learned from the thestral colt, the snake was interesting, as snakes were not to be found in this part of the world anymore, but just a snake. The unicorn, Sweet Pea she believed her name was, seemed the next one worth taking another closer look at. If this was an aged up Dove then the Unicorn should likely look older too. If the Unicorn looked to have not aged at all that might give more credence that this was another pegasus entirely. But there was one element that she had been informed of that she didn't have a good view of at all, the presumed mirror. She needed information on that, then she would look closer at Sweet Pea.

"Computer can you get a better view of this mirror that they are suppose to have with them?" Peridot asked.

"Negative, outside camera range," the computer intoned. Well, that was unfortunate. She made a note to herself that she needed to have some pony install additional cameras by the front gate. There was plenty inside Ocid, but the front gate had been overlooked it seemed.

"Computer, bring up full body picture of the unicorn," she commanded instead.

The image came up and she took a closer look at the refugee unicorn. It was definitely Sweet Pea, she had looked over the unicorn's pictures several times after her escape. She looked a bit older than she should have, as this mare looked to be a matured mare, while she was clearly a younger mare yesterday. So, that confirmed that the pegasus was indeed Dove. How had they aged so much in one day? That seemed impossible, but the evidence was sitting right on screen. Sweet Pea had been pregnant yesterday, according to reports. It had been too early to show anything, but nothing showed still. Maybe the thestral colt was the foal, but that seemed to be a problematic answer. Thinking about this made her head hurt. There was one last unknown element, and probably the most interesting, to look at.

"Computer, give me full body image of the unknown alicorn," she gave the command.

She should have been more shocked at the image on the screen, but after the others her reaction was more muted. That alicorn wasn't an unknown, that was Midnight Glow. She had traded in her leathery wings for feathered ones, as well as gained a horn, but it was definitely Sunset's youngest acolyte. Peridot was familiar enough with the pony to know her on sight. Midnight looked a little older as well, reconfirming what Peridot had already seen, but that was a small detail compared to the fact she was obviously ascended. How had they managed that?

The better question might be; could they do it again? That had possibilities, If Midnight Glow could ascend then so could others.

"Computer give me audio out to them," Peridot commanded, and then turned her attention back to the main screen.

"Hello, Water Shadow, I was not expecting to see you ever again. I am surprised you are all alive, where is Sunset?" Peridot asked.

"Sunset sacrificed herself so that we might escape. Let us in Peridot, we have a lot to discuss," Water Shadow said while glaring at the camera.

The news that Sunset was dead hit Peridot harder than she thought it would. She had expected it, but it was still hard to hear. Though their relationship had been strained in recent years Sunset was still something of a mother figure to her. However, she couldn't afford to show weakness over the news.

"How do I know you won't try to incite rebellion against me? And if you aren't there is still the matter of that pegasus that the necromancer wants so badly that she would send the killing blow down on us to get her. I am intrigued by the fact you somehow managed a fresh ascensions, but I have to be sure letting you in is for the good of Ocid," Peridot said, hoping to dig out some answers. Her first impulse was to just let them in and capture them right away, but she needed to do better and be more careful.

"I have one personal piece of news that you will want to discuss with me in private without any prying ears, other than how we had Midnight ascend and how we plan to save Ocid," Water Shadow offered.

"What might that be?" Peridot scoffed.

"Your sister is alive, Peridot. Mera lives," Water Shadow said just loud enough for the audio to pick up.

Peridot just sat staring at the screen silently. It had to be some sort of trick. Water Shadow knew how to push her buttons after all. Biblo was over a thousand years dead. If Biblo had lived she would have made herself known at some point long before. She wouldn't have hidden herself away from Pearl, maybe every pony else, but not Pearl. Pearl had confirmed that Biblo was dead though, and her book had even given some small redemption to Biblo's actions in saying that she had killed the alicorn responsible. They were still heinous, but at least they was some silver lining to them. If Biblo were alive still..

"Open the gate," she said without thinking. She cursed immediately in her head after letting the words out. She did intend on bringing them in anyway, but should have gotten more information first to know what she was dealing with. She sighed, it was going to take time to correct her habits.

"Stay near the entrance once you enter. I will go down to meet you myself, it will take just a few minutes. We will sit and talk in the garrison there. I will be bringing extra guards, but will not assault you. At least I won't until I hear what you have to say. I can't say what I will do after that, because I don't know yet myself. That is the best offer I can give you at the moment. If you are unwilling to accept those terms you can look for shelter elsewhere," Peridot said quickly before any of the ponies outside could enter.

"Not the most friendly offer, but one we will accept. On the condition that you promise the safety of all of us, not just me, while we talk, and you give us all the option of leaving freely if no compromise can be reached after our talk," Water Shadow answered.

Peridot considered the request. The necromancer had relented on attacking Ocid after the filly had left, that meant simply having the pegasus banished from the walls should likely be good enough again. A few minutes of sanctuary wouldn't likely cause any harm. Part of her wanted justice for their seeming betrayal, but she was doing her best to try to put things into perspective. What did she need to do to do better than she had been?

"I can promise if you give me no new incentive to attack your party I will let you leave of your own accord if no agreement between us can be reached. I have to do what I feel is right by Ocid, and if I feel Ocid is threatened by me just letting you go free then I can't do that. If I see no threat in just letting you free then I will do so, but only if I see no threat in it. As things stand right now I see no reason not to just let you walk away from Ocid, but I haven't heard what you have to say yet. That is the most honest answer I can give you," Peridot concluded, hoping it was the right one. She was sick of making mistakes.

"I can agree with that. We will await your arrival just inside the gate. If you try to double cross us, or decide to try to attack us, we will defend ourselves, but hopefully we can all come to an agreement. I think what we have to offer will excite you," Water Shadow said. Peridot could see the Alicorn smiling even through the blurry camera image.

Peridot hated being told that there was an offer. It felt too much like the things she had been dealing with from the Mare of Shadows. She had been stuck with too many bad deals lately because she had been pressured. Water Shadow would not simply pressure her into another one. This time would be different, this time she wouldn't just bow under the pressure.

[

Ruins of Harmony, Dead Lands

Sunset lay among the ruins of what had once been the greatest city the world had ever known. She hadn't had the power to teleport herself all the way back to Ocid in one teleport, not after her battle with Mera. The alicorn was exhausted, and after a few brief stops to recharge her magic, she had brought herself here. Harmony, despite all that had died here, was relatively free from undead.

She looked at the ruins all around her, and let out a soft sob. It may have happened over a thousand years before, but the hurt was still fresh. Whatever scarring had gone over that hurt had been sliced into anew today as she had faced off against the pony who had done this, a pony until not long ago she had believed dead and buried among these ruins. It was an impossible hurt to recover from. How could any pony recover from so much death and destruction happening all at once.

Near her were the remains of former residences. Most of them had been crushed by the falling Tree. The broken parts of those colossal branches littered the area, and made crystal tombs for the ponies whose bodies likely still remained in their homes.

Off in the distance she could see the uprooted trunk of the Tree towering over the ruins. When the Tree had fallen the roots from below had been ripped upwards, destroying whole sections of the city that might have escaped being crushed by the falling Tree. No area of the city had been spared the devastation. Yes, here and there might have been some building that miraculously escaped being destroyed, but those buildings were lone sentinels among a field of dead. If a pony listened closely you could still hear the ghostly weeping throughout the city.

Despite millions dying in mere moments, and others dying in the days that followed trapped beneath the rubble, there had been survivors. Those ponies lived their lives afterwards with perpetual haunted looks. They had been as broken as the Tree.

Sunset had not witnessed the fall herself, and was only given accounts of it. She had been there trying to search for survivors after Mera had been supposedly taken down. It made her want to vomit to think that she had embraced the mare, not knowing it was her, soon after. It felt like a slap in the faces of all the dead.

Now she had faced Mera again, without Mera wearing any form of disguise. Now she was off to do Mera's bidding, and that made her sick too. It made her more unsettled that she actually agreed with her once friend; the threat that an army of Alicorns at full power trying to kill an unlikable for was very real and very frightening.

What Sunset did not agree on was Mera's outlook for the future. There had to be a way to overcome the Elder Gods without costing everything their life. They didn't need to reboot their world, they needed to save it. Even Mera's plans to reboot looked doubtful from what Mera had described. Mera had to not only complete her contract, but she had to overcome all her fellow acolytes, beings that were doubtlessly just as dangerous as she was, most of them far older and more experienced. Mera's plan, even if it was the only way, was a fool's hope. It was a plan created by madness and desperation.

Sunset reflected on what she had learned feeling around in Mera's corrupted mind. Mera's original powers were still in full effect, she was a sponge for the magic of others, and she had absorbed more than Sunset could fathom. Meta also had absorbed the Elder Gods' magic and nature into herself, and she fed off of and grew stronger with others suffering as well. This was the heart of her full corruption, and Mera understood that.

Mera was a pony that at the same time recognized herself as vile and defiled, but one that hoped to do some final action to atone for herself. She was also a pony that had lost hope, and hated herself. Sadly, the worst punishment she could endure would be to have to face her murdered mate and explain herself.

Looking for some way of punishing Mera and getting retribution for the dead solved nothing though. Sunset was a pony that believed in redemption, even for ponies as vile as Mera. Sunset had once become a demonic being herself, a slave to magic she didn't understand and her own ambition, but she had found redemption in the end. If Ponykind was to survive the answer was in the redemption of Mera. Mera could not be slain, but perhaps she could be turned into an ally instead an enemy.

How to do that though was the question. Mera was very much insane, and an addict for suffering just like some addicted to a drug. Plus, from what Sunset could tell, Mera had not been lying about Grogar being able to force Mera to do what he wanted. Those were very real problems that had to be solved if there was any hope for redemption. Sunset had dealt with the mentally ill before, and she had cured addicts of their addictions, the issue with Grogar was the difficult one to solve.

As long as Mera's contract existed Grogar could come to take her bell and hold her to her contract. So the obvious solution was to make it so the contract was broken. That was not an easy thing to do, demonic contracts were not merely pieces of paper you could burn or tear up. They had to either be completed or made so one side could not fulfill their part of the contract. That was a puzzle to figure out.

It would help if she actually knew exactly what Mera's contract said word for word. Perhaps if Mera had been honest in saying she would keep in touch via dreams Sunset could ask. Mera had been forthcoming with information so far after all, and Sunset wanted to believe that that was because Mera secretly wanted a solution found.

That would have to wait for now though. At the moment Sunset had a sister to stop before it started. She also had to figure out how to keep Dove safe from Mera still. Perhaps she could find a way to not destroy the mirror but still stop the threat that an army of Alicorns could present to the world.

A sudden thought occurred to her then. Mera might actually have an answer to that. Mera absorbed information from each of her kills, she had killed all the Greater Alicorns aside from Flurry Heart. Perhaps she knew the methods used to block ascension. If Sunset could lock the ability to ascend out of the other world as it had been done in this world there was no threat of Alicorns destroying the world, but they would still have access to the resources of the world beyond the mirror. She hoped Mera would contact her soon so she could find out, and that Mera would actually go for this compromise.

Sunset sighed. The world had been turned upside down today. She was now placing the hopes and well being of ponies in the hooves of the necromancer, and actively trying to think of ways to get the pony that she had until recently only known as The Mare of Shadows to ally with them. Maybe Sunset was going crazy in her old age, but she desperately longed for a way to make things right. So many different ponies had different views of how to do that though, and they were seemingly all in conflict.

What was the saying back on Earth? The road to Tarturus is paved with the best of intentions? Something like that, it felt very true though.

Chapter 16: Deranged Minds

Water Shadow and the others waited patiently for Peridot Glow to arrive. They were under armed guard by a little over two dozen guards. The guards were ultimately pointless, they may have been a threat yesterday here, but yesterday was twelve years ago, and a lot had changed in that time. Either Water Shadow or Sweet Pea could likely overpower this entire unit with ease, and the guard would find Midnight to be a force to be reckoned with as well. It was merely Water Shadow's hopes for a peaceful resolution that kept her waiting politely.

Peridot's claims that she would be right down were a bit of an overstatement. The central base of operation in Night's Heart was a fair distance from them, with Crystal Heart being much closer to their entry point. Even with a high speed transport it would take time for Peridot to reach them. Water Shadow had chosen this location to enter so it would take time for Peridot to reach them. It allowed Water Shadow time to think of what to say to Peridot, and it allowed time for Peridot to actually try to think rationally rather than rush in as she usually did. Water Shadow was well aware of Peridot's typical means of dealing with issues quickly without thought, and hopefully forcing Peridot to have more time to think would work to their advantage.

They had a full audience of guards waiting around them. Other ponies would occasionally pass near, but they tended to avert their eyes. Ponies in Ocid had a habit of trying to not look at what was going on around them, not that Water Shadow blamed them, the action helped them cope.

She looked at her companions to see how the were holding up during the wait.

Sweet Pea was glaring daggers at the guards. The unicorn was clearly itching for a fight. Water Shadow hoped that no such thing came to pass, and this could all be done peacefully. Sweet Pea's hostility was understandable, but worrisome. It reminded Water Shadow far too much of Mera's overprotective nature, and that had led to the worst. She and the Unicorn were going to need to spend some time talking. Sweet Pea might not have the same raw potential that Mera had possessed, but rage could do horrible things to a pony's soul.

Midnight was getting a lot more stares from the guards than the rest of them. The young alicorn seemed extremely nervous, like she was ready to bolt away at any moment. She was sitting, but still fighting in place. On and off her horn would give off a spark, which would get the guards to focus more on her. The spark wasn't anything deliberate, Water Shadow knew. It was just the side effect of being a magic caster with highly stressed nerves and weak control. It was worrisome as well though. It meant it wouldn't take much to bring Midnight into a panic, and a panicking Alicorn was a very bad thing to have to deal with.

Quiet Word seemed equally intimidated by his surroundings. The biggest difference was he regularly let off little sneezes and scrunched up his muzzle. He was the only one of them who had never smelled the stench of Ocid, even Dove had some small exposure at a much younger age. Water Shadow of course would never forget how putrid this place smelled. With her heightened senses she could smell more than the others, and she could smell the Bakery at work, even at this distance. It made her want to gag.

As for the pegasus herself, Dove looked extremely anxious. The almost mare sized filly was constantly checking the gun on her foreleg as she stared at the guard ponies. The guards seemed as much focused on her as they were her mother. It made sense all around. The guards had never seen a pegasus before, they had never seen an alicorn other than Shadow and Sunset, and the filly was not accustomed to ponies outside their close little group; much less ones that were staring at her like she was some sort of monster ready to attack them. Dove needed to calm down or she might start firing off that gun.

"Dove, sooth yourself. We aren't going to let any pony get you here. If any pony tries they are going to find they made a foul up," Shadow told the filly.

"They don't need to keep staring at me like that," Dove muttered loudly. "And they are staring at Ma..Mom too. I don't like it."

Water Shadow suppressed her urge to smile at Dove's attempts to alter her language to show she was trying to be more mature. It wouldn't do to patronize the filly with Dove already uncomfortable. Still, Dove needed to settle down before she did something foolish.

"Just remember your mother is very capable of defending herself if need be. I would be more afraid for these guards if they tried to lay a hoof on you. I am sure Midnight would leave them as blood splatters on the wall if they tried," Shadow said with a hint of mirth.

"You had better believe it," Midnight growled from her spot. She seemed to go from nervous to aggressive in an instant. Motherly instincts and her still present thestral instincts, despite no longer being a thestral, were more than capable of making her go aggressive in a second at the prospect of a threat to her daughter.

The guards all stepped back a few steps after that declaration. That was probably a rational response to hearing an Alicorn declare they were going to rip them apart if they got on her bad side. Midnight actually looked pleased with herself for intimidating them. Shadow shouldn't have encouraged such behavior, but the reminder to the citizens of Ocid that they were dealing with incredibly powerful beings was probably important.

"All of you do need to keep yourselves as calm as possible. We don't want violence if it can be avoided. We want Peridot to see reason, and murdering her guards and starting a battle within Ocid will almost certainly put an end to that hope," she said to all her companions.

"And if she doesn't see reason?" Midnight asked, she still looking fluffed after her previous declaration.

"We will figure out that afterwards," Shadow answered.

"What we are doing is too important to our survival and to Ocid's long term survival. If they don't see reason we will have to just force ourselves into power. We can't go back out there right now, and we can't let things continue as they were here. Better to just take control," Sweet Pea said as she continued to glare at the guards.

"We aren't here as conquers, and ponies other than just the guards would be hurt if a war broke out in Ocid. We are hoping to relieve suffering, not be the cause of more, remember that, and consider the impact of your actions. Mera once wanted to protect the world from monsters, but became everything she hated in the process. Don't set yourself on the same path," Shadow said with a stern look at Sweet Pea.

"We are nothing like that demon," Sweet Pea said defensively, crossing her forelegs.

"You are far more similar to her than you would believe. Take it from somepony that was there. I will have to tell you her story sometime, the story before what you heard from Midnight. Mera was obsessed with protecting her loved one, a noble goal, but it took her too some very dark seas. It is my responsibility to keep you from sailing into those waters; you, Midnight, Peridot, and any other pony," Shadow said darkly. She would make sure this unicorn didn't go and become a threat herself. Part of the reason that she needed to talk to Peridot was Peridot was far too far down that path, and it was time to start trying to pull her back in before it was too late. The demons had already started coming to tempt Peridot from what Sunset had said.

Thoughts of her friend made her want to sob still. It was best not to think of Sunset and what had likely become of her. It was time to focus on what needed to be done right now. It hurt though, it hurt a lot. She had living ponies she needed to worry about. If she could mend her sails with Peridot and keep Midnight safe and sane she would still have companionship no matter what through the ages.

A transport was coming into view. It was a type that she knew Peridot favored. The crystal pony had indeed made haste to come see them. It came to a stop a short distance away and opened up on the side quickly. Peridot emerged and gave them a quick glance over, before beginning to advance towards them.

"You are very bold to show your face again here, all of you. I hope what you have to say is worth it," Peridot said as she came to a stop before Water Shadow.

"We can talk inside the barracks. I was going to want to talk to you alone, but my companions are very skittish. I prefer they come in as well so no pony does something that we will all regret. I am sure you will want to talk to them as well," Shadow said, giving a gesture at the others.

"We could talk out here fine. Forgive me if I feel a little more comfortable with guns trained on all of you," Peridot said while scrunching up her muzzle.

"Normally I would say there is no harm in that, but I don't think you want any more ponies than already know to know about your sister's current state. Believe me, you do not want that as public information," Shadow replied with lowered eyes.

Peridot just stared for a moment, before glancing again at her guards, and the other companions. She sighed then nodded agreement.

"Good, let's get some privacy. Please remember we are only the messengers of your sister's fate. We mean you no ill will by telling you. You have a right to know though," Water Shadow said solemnly.

Peridot looked uncomfortable, but nodded again. They all filed into the barracks one by one after. Hopefully the news would not bring out the worst in the Ponymother.

Mera wandered the halls of the tomb without being certain of her destination after she entered back in. It was time to plan her next move.

To say Mera was not in a good mood would have been the understatement of the millennia. Talking to Sunset had been both a balm and ripping open an old wound. She didn't know if she wanted to go somewhere and cry, or find some pony to torture in new and exciting ways. Since her pens were still empty that decision was kind of made for her though. She would need to get those pens refilled soon. She was an addict out of her drug with them empty.

Sunset seemed dead set on trying to redeem her. It was stupid to think there was any redemption for her. She was damned the moment she killed Pearl, and all she could do is wallow in her damnation so she could numb herself to the fact she was a monster. Monsters weren't supposed to care about how vile they were. As soon as she did some more killing she could drown out that caring with the bliss that came with the suffering of her victims.

Her familiar path went on for many minutes until she reached the central tomb chamber. Her eyes fell upon the stone casket and she resisted the urge to avert them. There were no victims in the tomb to make suffer aside from her dogs, and they were needed for other things. That meant the only pony that could suffer right now was herself. It was time for some punishment.

With great care she moved the lid of the casket with her magic, careful not to damage anything, and set it gently to the side. Letting out a sigh she walked over to it and looked inside at its most sacred of contents.

Pearl's body was there as it always was. Time and decay had no effect on it, leaving Pearl looking like she was just sleeping. No breath of life moved in her chest nor any bodily action take place. Pearl was dead as dead could be, and it was Mera's fault. Some sort of residual magic from Pearl kept the body preserved, but the mind and soul were not there.

Mera had sighed that mind dry, and had all of Pearls memories ready to call upon on command. Rarely had she ever done such a thing with another pony, but she had taken it all from Pearl. She hadn't taken the soul as she did with so many ponies after, she didn't have that kind of power at the time. She wondered what Pearl's soul was experiencing now, wherever it was. Not for the first time did she wonder this.

Looking at Pearl's body was two reminders. It was a reminder of Mera's sin, and a way of punishing herself for it. It was also a reminder of what she was working towards, the hope that Pearl would live again. Pearl would lead the newly reborn world right, make it a better place than this ever was; Mera would give Pearl not a single foal, but all of life.

Mera knew that this was an overly optimistic view of things, but she wanted to believe that Pearl would do a better job at giving a guiding hoof to the world than the Alicorns ever did. Pearl wasn't some almighty being, she was a regular pony, and that is what made her better qualified. A regular pony would understand regular ponies better, and care more. Pearl would do better at making this world a utopia than those blasted alicorns ever did. Peridot might not have been up to the task, but Peridot had to contend with Mera. Pearl would have a world free from monsters.

These were all the crazed thoughts of a madmare, and Mera knew it. They were what she had to tell herself to make her peace with it. She was committed to her path whether she wanted to be or not. She needed to believe in something, no matter how unlikely it would be. She had always believed in Pearl, and it was the easiest thing to keep believing in.

Mera dropped her shadow and let herself just be her crystal pony form again. She then hopped into the casket next to Pearl and cuddled up close to her wife's cold body. She needed the scent and smell of Pearl close to her.

She ran a hoof over her wife's mane. How many times when Pearl was distraught had Mera run her hoof over Pearl's mane in such a way to try to sooth her? There had been a brief time, after a terrible thing had happened when she had done this multiple times a day every day. Pearl had been such a mess after the rape, and Mera had learned hate for the first time in those days as Pearl suffered from the trauma of what her rapist had done. Mera still was angry she was never the one to murder Rose Thorn. Luna had taken Mera's rightful kill, and Mera had made Luna pay dearly for it years later.

Her hoof brushed down and came near the bases of Pearls wings. Mera smiled at the memory of the day she had taken thestral form for the first time, and Pearl had taught her what sexual delight could be felt with just the right touch at the base of a wing. She ran her hoof over each of them now, imagining she was giving that delight to Pearl now, and leaned over and kissed Pearl's muzzle.

Oh how she longed to feel that kind of joy with Pearl again. She laid another kiss on Pearl's neck, and worked her way down Pearl's body with kisses. She ran her hoof over the base of Pearl's tail, another sensitive spot, and then briefly touched Pearl's feminine flower. If only she could make it wet again.

She brought her hoof back to her own nether region and rubbed, imagining it had Pearl's juices all over it and she was mixing them in with her own. She gave Pearl more kisses, and gentle love bites. She was getting so hot, despite the cool off the tomb.

With her massaging hoof now wet from it's work in between her hind legs she brought it back around to Pearl's area and rubbed the sticky cum into Pearl's dry waiting area. She could get Pearl wet in other ways after all. If only Pearl could really feel this, and know how much Mera loved her.

This would all never be possible, but for right now it was comforting to pretend. Mera kept on giving her wife overdue attention.

Shadow Quartz sighed as she left work. It was going to be her day off tomorrow and she wanted to savor every moment of it. Maybe she would go by the brothel and spend the day there drugged up and enjoying the mares there. She didn't normally think about sex at all, with mares or stallions, but it was so easy to just let herself go with some lustwort and cuddle up with a prostitute. It let her forget her life, at least for a little while.

She glanced at her foreleg's display. The countdown was still going for getting pregnant too. She had lots of time for that still. She had only been suited for six months, so she still had years to go.

These six months felt like they had been an eternity. Her job had given her next to no training before she had been responsible for performing the tasks on her own. Personally she would have rather been put in any other job; prostitute, factory worker, teacher, Foal Services, mechanic, farmer, guard, shopkeeper, driver, air conditioning technician, bartender, heck give her a job scrubbing floors with her tongue and she would have taken that first. No, she was one of the most unlucky ponies in Ocid, she was an overseer of the Bakery.

Ponies wouldn't come willingly near her as she walked down the street. Her suit all but screamed what she was. Suits were reused time and time again, and despite being stain resistant there were bloodstains on hers from generations of ponies. She had to spend every day of her life walking around coated in the blood of Ocid. Ponies would give her extra distance between themselves and her, sometimes so much they plastered themselves against the walls. They treated her as a monster. She wished sometimes she was, so she wouldn't feel like as isolated from other ponies. Her mother had tried to be there for her, but the thought of dealing with a Bakery overseer was too much even for her after a month.

So Shadow Quartz had turned to the brothels, because prostitutes would spend time with her if she had the credits for it. Even the other overseers didn't want to spend time with each other, it was too much of a reminder of the Bakery.

Well, that wasn't entirely true. The Old Fart would probably spend time with her, but that pony was a sick sadist. He had been an overseer for years, longer than all the others put together. None of the other overseers wanted anything to do with him, they didn't even know his true name. Some small part of herself envied The Old Fart though; to just be the monster that other ponies saw her as, but she still was as much disgusted with what she did as any decent pony would be.

She came up near one of her most frequented brothels as she walked. There were a few prostitutes standing outside, and they looked at her coyly as she came near. They knew her schedule by now, and knew what she would be wanting.

"Ready to have some fun?" Soiled Satin said to her. She had screwed with Soiled Satin plenty of times before, and the mare knew all the right ways to touch her and just the right amounts of lustwort to get her really horny. Soiled Satin was an expert at her job.

However, Soiled Satin was also slowing down on her pregnancy rates. A prostitute that couldn't get pregnant was one that was due to be serviced by Shadow Quartz soon enough. Shadow Quartz didn't know how long Soiled Satin could go without producing a foal that would put her in danger of the Bakery, but the thought of having to watch the unicorn be put through the processing was an unnerving one. It was probably best not to spend too much more time with her in bed.

"Tomorrow I will be by for sure, but for tonight I think I just want to go home and wash the stink of work off me, and try to just sleep," Shadow Quartz replied in a tired voice. She didn't even need to take the weariness, she was exhausted in ways far beyond lack of sleep.

"Tomorrow then, Little Gem. Did you want some lustwort for yourself for tonight?" Soiled said with a smile. Little Gem was what a lot of the prostitutes called crystal pony mares. Soiled was clearly looking for every bit credit she could in asking about the lustwort, but Shadow Quartz really didn't mind; she needed her escapes.

"Yeah, just a few joints for tonight," she answered. She had been such a good filly growing up, the thought of giving into drugs would have been alien to her younger self. Her younger self didn't know that she was going to be working in the Bakery though.

Soiled pulled a few out of a pouch and passed them on to Shadow Quartz's saddle bag. They held out their respective forelegs and bitcredits were exchanged.

"Pleasure doing business with you. Ocid survives," Soiled said with a smile.

"Ocid survives," she replied back quietly. All of Ocid could go screw themselves.

Shadow Quartz resumed her walk home. She dragged her hooves through the grey dust of the streets, kicking up little clouds as she went. She contemplated going by the store and buying some booze. Maybe she could pick up some pipe weed and a pipe as well, that stuff was supposed to relieve stress, and she could use that during the actual work week without interfering with anything. What was one more drug to make life bearable? She supposed that could wait on that till tomorrow evening, she had her indulgences for tonight after she washed. She wouldn't be really getting the impact of anything new tonight. Tonight she would be busy humping a pillow to her heart's content, new stuff could wait.

She came up to her building. The place was a dump, but every place in Ocid was a dump. The worst thing they taught you in school was how things used to be. She wouldn't know how crappy the place she lived in was if they hadn't bothered to show the homes that ponies used to live in. Now she couldn't help but notice the piss stains on the ground, the manure in the corners, and how everything was stained from floor to ceiling. How did you even get stains on the ceiling? Did thestrals rub their butts along it after taking a crap in the corner? She hadn't ever seen such a thing happen, but that is what it looked like. Schools shouldn't ever teach about how houses looked before, that way ponies could be happy with their shit stained ceilings.

She walked into the hall. There were foals playing in it. She didn't mind foals too much, at least the younger ones. They didn't realize what she did for work, or didn't realize what that meant yet. That meant they didn't typically start running in terror of her until their parents started telling them about how they needed to keep as far as possible away from her as they could get. She didn't recognize these foals, which was a good thing, they shouldn't be terrified of her.

She walked slowly down the hall to the elevator at the end. When she passed by the foals the moved politely out of the way, but not in any sort of fearful way. That brought a smile to her face. It was amazing that such a little thing as some pony not being afraid of her feel better.

She waited patiently for the elevator to descend. It was a tall building, nearly thirty stories, and it looked like the elevator was coming from the top. That made her a bit anxious, it was more opportunity for some parent to come into the hall and react badly to the sight of her.

She looked at the foals as she waited. Maybe what she needed to do was hurry up and get pregnant. Taking care of a foal would give her something positive to think about outside of work. Additionally a foal of her own wasn't likely to ever be afraid of her. She could clean up her recent behavior a lot for the sake of some pony that actually wanted to spend time with her. Maybe it would help her reconnect with her mother if she had a foal. Her mother would want to know about her grandfoals after all, and that might be enough to let her mother tolerate the fact Shadow Quartz worked in the Bakery. It wasn't Shadow Quartz's fault that she got stuck with that job, her mom had to be able to come to understand that.

As the elevator was coming near the bottom a huge bang echoed through the hallway making her jump. She looked towards the entrance of the building to see the entire entryway had been leveled. Standing among the rubble was a pony, at least she thought it was a pony. He looked like a Thestral, but he was half metal, and wore no suit at all, and he was glaring at her.

Her breath caught as she recognized him. He was one of the ponies that the Ponymother had forced her to withhold the euthanasia drug from. She didn't remember his name, but she couldn't forget the faces of those ponies. The first one of them had been strangely kind to her. This one had struggled violently the whole way though. He should not be here, he shouldn't be even alive. All that should be left of him should have been meal bars.

The foals had run away immediately. The fact that this pony had just destroyed the entrance to the building was enough indication that this was not a friendly pony. Shadow Quartz looked at the location of the elevator quickly and saw it was still a floor away. She silently begged that it would get to her before this monster did.

"You..you hurt me," the half monster thestral said haltingly to her.

"I didn't want to, I was just doing my job. I didn't have a choice. Please don't hurt me," she begged in a trembling voice.

"You hurt many ponies," the thing said in answer, and began to slowly advance.

"I don't have a choice! It is my job! I didn't want this job, no pony wants this job!" She screamed back. Behind her she heard the elevator reach the the ground floor. She began pounding on the door before it opened.

"Should have walked away from job," the thing growled. It was still advancing, and was now halfway down the hall towards her.

"They would kill me! Some pony would be doing the job anyway. I had to do it or I would be a meal bar too!" The door opened behind her and she darted into the elevator and began pounding on the button for her floor and the button to close the door.

The monster continued to advance as she sent a silent prayer to any higher power that could hear her. It didn't matter who answered; the Spirits of Harmony, the Elder Gods, the Lord of Tartarus, the alicorns, the Ponymother, it could be a freaking god of fleas for all she cared, just something that would save her. She wasn't ready to die.

The door shut with the creature still slowly advancing. It didn't seem to care that she was getting away. She didn't know if that disturbed her more or less than if it had tried to force itself in before the doors closed. As the elevator started to ascend a dreadful truth occurred to her. She was still cornered as she went higher into the building. The thing could still come for her. Her only hope was the guards would come and take the thing out before it could find her.

She looked up at the elevator's camera and her panic rose higher. The camera had no light on it, it was out of order. She was sure she had seen it working this morning when she left for work, she had been sure she saw its light on. Why did it have to choose now of all times to go on the fritz? The guards needed to know she was here, and that she was in trouble.

She tried to calm herself and think reasonably. That was just this one camera, there were cameras everywhere, and they had to have picked up that monster ripping through the entrance to the building. The guards had to already be on their way. All she had to do was hold out until they arrived. She could do this, she could buy herself time. Once the do it opened she would go and hide in some other pony's apartment. They had to let her in, no pony could turn away any pony, no matter what they did for a job, that was in this dire a need.

The elevator suddenly came to a lurching stop. Shadow Quartz looked up at the floor indicator and saw she was no where near her floor yet. Why had the elevation stopped now? Was that thing waiting just outside the door for her? It couldn't have gotten up that many floors so fast by staircase, could it?

She had to trust that it hadn't. If she didn't get off this elevator she was just waiting for that monster to arrive without being hidden. She hit the button for opening the elevator door, but got no response. She let off a cry a she began pounding on the elevator door, trying desperately to get it to open.

"I am very sorry about this happening to you. I really am," came a voice from behind her.

She spun around to face the voice. Sitting there was something that was definitely not a pony; a strange, bearded creature with a serpentine body, and mismatched limbs. It sat there watching her.

"That is one of the unfortunate things about chaos and doing things on impulse. You never really know how things will turn out. It seems you will be on the receiving end of one of those more unfortunate ways it has settled," the creature said. It pulled a paper container out of nowhere that was filled with strange little white things, and began stuffing some into his mouth.

"Please, you have to save me," she begged the thing, sobbing.

It looked at her in a way that she could only interpret as annoyance.

"I don't have to do anything. I already went and saved multiple ponies in the last day or so, it is getting old and predictable. I am just being nice by coming to tell you I am sorry about what is about to happen to you. You ponies are oh so demanding. Oh Discord, please save me! Really, have some pride in your final moments, it is really one of the most depressing things to watch when I have to see a pony cry. Of all the ungrateful creatures, ponies must be the worst. I go out of my way to express my sympathy and they just go and cry and beg me for favors. Of all the nerve," the creature growled with rage. Then he snapped his claws and he vanished as if he was never there.

Shadow Quartz just laid down and wept. She had called up in a higher power, and that higher power had come; only to dismiss her and condemn her to death. That was what was going to happen, she was going to die.

She jumped back against the wall, whimpering in terror, as the elevator lurched again. The middle of the floor of the elevator bulges upward as it was repeatedly struck from belong by something with super pony strength. The metal bulge began to tear in the center and the monster forced its way into the elevator through the hole.

"I don't want to die! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry," she blubbered from her position against the wall.

"You are now," the thing hissed.

The last thing that she would ever know was the vision of the monster lurching one final time towards her, and the pain as her body was ripped to shreds.

Chapter 17: Changes in Order

Dove was not comfortable as she rode in the transport back to Night's Heart. There were a lot of things making her uncomfortable. For starters this entire transport was way too cramped, and she was not used to be in an enclosed space. The next thing that made her feel uncomfortable was this entire place just smelled wrong. It didn't just smell wrong, it smelled really bad, like when food was left sitting too long, but even worse than that. After that there was the fact that so many ponies in this place stared at her a lot. She didn't know these ponies at all, she didn't really know any ponies besides the ones she had spent her life with, and all these new ponies made her really uncomfortable with their stares.

The main thing that made Dove uncomfortable was the alicorn sized pony sitting across from her in the transport. Peridot seemed to be a very mean and angry pony. When Water Shadow had been talking to Peridot in the little building there had been a lot of yelling. Peridot had called them all liars, which was mean and untrue. There had been a couple times Dove was sure that Peridot was going to hit either Water Shadow or Dove's ma..mother. The big pony had never done it, but it seemed like she would. Peridot eventually said that she believed them, but it had taken a long time. So yeah, Peridot was scary.

The last thing that was bothering Dove had just started in the last few minutes. It was like an itch, and it was in a place she was told not to ever touch, but it itched a lot. It made her squirm in her seat and was driving her crazy. She has never felt something itch like this before, and definitely not there. Her aunt was giving her a weird look, like she was trying to hold back a laugh. It wasn't funny! It really was bothering her.

"What's that smell?" Her mother suddenly said lifting her head in confusion.

"Forget home sweet home stinks little alicorn?" Peridot mocked.

"No, I know what Ocid smells like, this smells different. It kind of reminds me of the breeding centers," her mother said as she sniffed at the air.

"It's Dove, don't worry about it right now, it isn't anything bad," Sweet Pea said with a smirk.

"I didn't do anything, I swear! I didn't fart or anything," Dove protested. She wasn't lying either, she really hadn't done anything.

Water Shadow sniffed the air, and so did Peridot, the had very different reactions. Water Shadow let off a sigh and a sad shake of her head at Dove. Peridot started smirking just like Sweet Pea did. Dove had another moment of anger that ponies were accusing her of being stinky.

"We know you didn't do anything on purpose, you have no control about this," Water Shadow said, and then turned to Dove's mother. "You once asked if Dove was sterile, it isn't a guaranteed no, but I guess this is a pretty good indication that answer is a likely no. Timing on realizing it is rather awkward though."

Dove silently fumed. She hadn't done anything. Why did they keep acting like she had done something? Between being mad at being told she had done something, and the unbearable itch, and dealing with all this other stuff she wanted to cry. It wasn't fair.

"Oh," her mother said with a blush. "Um, I really don't know how to deal with that. I never had that happen to me. Am I supposed to be doing something for her."

"I'll give her a talk later about it for you, don't worry. I have lots of experience dealing with that problem. We shouldn't have expected this coming with how big she is, and the fact she is about the right age for that kind of thing to start," her aunt said with a chuckle.

"If what you told me about her age is right then I actually started earlier than her. She'll be fine," Peridot said with an actual giggle. The big scary pony was giggling, and she was giggling about her, plus no pony was telling her what she had supposedly done; even though she knew she hadn't done anything.

Her mother got up and came and hugged her. Dove happily let herself be hugged. She was supposed to be acting all grown up, but right now she was getting upset and she just wanted her mama.

"My little filly is getting so big. Between this and you getting so big it is getting harder to call you my little filly anymore. You are almost as big as me. You'll always be my special giggle butt though," her mother said as she hugged her tight.

"Well, you can add stinky butt to that title now," Peridot said with a smile. Was Peridot being mean or was she being friendly? Was she making fun of her? It didn't seem like she was by the sound of her voice, but calling her a stinky butt was mean. She didn't have a stinky butt!

"You are actually being lighthearted. I don't think I have ever seen you lighthearted before," Water Shadow said to Peridot.

"The fact that the filly reminds me a bit of me brings back some more pleasant memories. This last thousand years has been anything but heartwarming for the most part," Peridot said solemnly. Dove didn't think they were much alike at all.

"She does bare a resemblance in size. She will likely be as big as you by the time she is full grown," Water Shadow said with a smile. Why were they suddenly talking so friendly to each other when they were yelling at each other earlier?

"That she would," Peridot said as she looked at Dove. Again Dove didn't like the way that mare looked at her. She also didn't like the fact Peridot said would, like it wouldn't happen.

"If we get the mirror installed here she could reach full growth in a day. Live a full life in a week without any unpleasantness. A life that many ponies could live," Water Shadow said to Peridot. This was getting back to some of the things they were arguing about earlier.

"I have to consult with..you know who. I will plead your case to her. I will not endanger all of Ocid for the sake of one filly though. I can sympathize. Really I can, but even though it is hard for me to do I have to think of the good of the many," Peridot said sternly. She was starting to look mean again even as she was saying she cared.

"Are you prepared to face your sister in the dream realm? You don't have to do this alone. I want to help you. To this point I have left too heavy a burden for you to shoulder alone. It is time for me to start making things right with you," Water Shadow said to Peridot with lowered ears.

"I..I am not ready to discuss that subject yet. Until I have heard it from the necromancer's mouth I won't believe it is her. I am not sure I will believe it even if I hear it from the demon. I won't discuss my sister again until I am ready. I stand by what I said Water Shadow. You are mistaken, and it can't be true," Peridot said quietly. Dove noticed that the big mare's ears had dropped and the anger had gone out of Peridot again. The big pony seemed sad, but Dove got the distinct impression Peridot was lying about something.

The two old ponies weren't talking anymore and her mom was still cuddling her. Dove could be happy with that arrangement. Why did all these ponies have to talk about her like she wasn't even there? If she was supposed to act all grown-up then shouldn't they treat her more like a grown-up? It really wasn't fair, not fair at all.

She glanced over at Quiet. He hadn't said anything about her in all that, not that he ever said a lot. He was looking at her weird though. It made her blush, which made her mad again because she didn't know why she was blushing. She got more fluffed as she realized she was itching more. It had to be this strange place. It was making ponies act funny, even her.

Her mother glanced at her and then at Quiet and then she blushed too. Yeah, this place was definitely getting to every pony.

"Um, Sweet Pea? Should we be keeping the two of them together unsupervised now? She just got more..pungent when she was looking at your son," her mother said to her aunt. Pungent? She didn't even know what that word meant. Now ponies were using weird made up words too!

"I don't think Quiet is old enough to even realize what she would be after, but it might be best to be safe rather than sorry," her aunt said after consideration.

"Can ponies please stop talking like I am not right here?! I am feeling weird, and ponies are acting weird, and I don't know what to do!" Dove yelled as she finally couldn't take it anymore.

Every pony then blushed, which suited her fine right then. They should all be embarrassed. Her mother looked at her aunt again with pleading eyes.

"We are sorry, Dove. You are right, we shouldn't be talking about you like you aren't here. It is just a really private subject and we are all trying to dance around it. I promise you that as soon as you and I can have some privacy I am going to tell you all about it. It is something your mom has never had to deal with, and something I am pretty sure Water Shadow has not had to deal with in a very long time. I have had to deal with it and still do on and off, so I will make sure you understand all about it. I am pretty sure you are dealing with a weird feeling in your hind area from all the squirming you have been doing, and even though you can't smell yourself the rest of us can smell you right now. It is a perfectly normal thing mares go through, and it starts about your age. It is also considered kind of rude to actually say anything directly about it in public, but we are all stressed right now. You and I will talk soon enough, just be patient with every pony," Sweet Pea said looking sympathetic.

Dove huffed and gripped her mother tighter. It seemed like a grown-up problem from what her aunt said. If she was supposed to be turning into a grown-up and this was what it was like she didn't want to.

Life wasn't fair

Eclipse was supposed to be sowing dissension and making contacts with ponies here in Sire's Hollow. Instead she was trying to take time to understand what she had become. Night Mist may be laser focused on her goals, but Eclipse needed to understand all aspects of what had happened to her.

She stepped through a security barrier of an old warehouse without it doing anything to her. It should have been zapping her with enough electricity to make her drop to the ground, instead it just failed. Different pieces of electronics failed at different times and ways around her, but she had found that in the end she could cause any to fail, not just cameras. They seemed to have to actively try to do something involving her to fail from what she could tell. Cameras were trying to transmit her image, so they failed on sight of her, other things required a little more to fail, but fail they would. She wondered if she was even capable of using a computer terminal or if the very action of using it would cause the terminal to fail. That would be very inconvenient.

There were other changes as well that Night Mist had either chosen not to mention, or was so caught up in her crusade to have bothered to notice. She was much stronger now, perhaps as strong as Peridot. Things that she could not have budged with all her strength before now moved with basically no effort on her behalf. She was pretty sure she could knock a hole through a steel wall with a good enough strike, at least one of average thickness. Ponies didn't get that strong, except for the alicorns and Peridot.

Despite being perpetually awake for at least a full twenty four hours now she wasn't tired, not in the least bit. Eclipse didn't know if this was simply adrenaline keeping her awake or some other change. Did a creature that was half metal need to sleep? She was only half metal, shouldn't her still pony parts need to rest, as should her mind? Perhaps it was just adrenaline from all that happened today, but she had a feeling that it wasn't just that.

The most dramatic change had nothing to do with newly gained powers. The biggest change was that she was filled constantly with rage. She wanted to lash out, she wanted to scream, and she wanted to hurt any that so much as looked at her wrong. Her temper had always been a very rare thing before, and this change to her temperament was far more worrisome to her than all the changes in her body and new powers combined. She wasn't sure if she was physically a pony or a monster now, but the fact she had to struggle so much to keep her rage in check made her feel like a monster.

She slammed a hoof down on top of a metal container within the warehouse in a vent of frustration, the container was crushed like it was paper instead of steel. She just stared at it for a long moment after. Her rage was hard to control and could easily be directed at ponies, if she lashed out like that at a pony she would surely kill them. Her eyes welled up with tears as she laid down on the floor. She was still enough of a decent pony that she knew she didn't want to do that.

The rage was somewhat understandable. The sudden betrayal of Peridot and the trip through the Bakery would have definitely done things to her that would cause trauma and with that rage. It was a understandable, but it was something that had to be dealt with if she really was going to help any pony. The fact that Night Mist and Spiral Swirl went through the same trauma meant their minds must be equally damaged.

She could understand Night Mist's drive to act now rather than take her time with what needed to be done. The need to do something to redirect all these feelings into was there. Night Mist was coping by directing all her anger into Peridot and the system of Ocid. Things really did need to change, but if Eclipse could take a guess Night Mist was doing this more for vengeance than desire to enact real reforms. Spiral Swirl had been in much worse shape than either of them, both before and after being put through the Bakery. He might have very little actual sanity left at this point.

It became increasingly clear to her that this was all going far too fast. There was some credit to what Night Mist said about how the timing was best now to make a move, but they were not mentally fit to be making that move yet, not until they learned to cope with what had happened to them. In their current mental state they were likely to do more harm than good for the ponies of Ocid. She couldn't be doing what Night Mist wanted her to do right now, she had to focus on trying to get herself back to where she knew her rage wasn't going to hurt some pony, get to where she could think clearly about everything.

Would Night Mist listen to reason and wait for them to get themselves back to where they could all be the good they might eventually be? It was hard to say, but it seemed unlikely. Worse Eclipse might lose control of her strenuous hold on her feelings and get into a rage filled brawl with Night Mist if she tried to reason with the older mare and failed. The only thing to do for the moment was try to get herself back in control of her own emotions.

She needed help, but had no pony to turn to. Her mistress was perhaps the only pony who could have helped. Her mistress was gone now though, perhaps dead for all Eclipse knew. It was all Peridot's fault, Peridot was to blame for all of this.

Ecipse slammed her own head against the crumpled steel container to clear it. She couldn't let herself start focusing on that, it would have her lose control of her rage. She did not want to suddenly go charging through Ocid screaming for Peridot's blood. More accurately she really wanted to do exactly that, but had enough sense at the current moment to know that was a very bad idea. It terrified her that it seemed such an easy thing to let herself fall into doing. She didn't want to be a monster.

For now she would just lay here and wait, ignoring Night Mist's directions. She would seek calm and get a hold of herself. Only after she did that would she figure out what to do next.

Midnight had never spent much time in the Spire of Crystal Heart, only visited once or twice. Everything in Ocid typically operated out of the Spire at Night's Heart. She was always impressed with the place though, it was the oldest building in Ocid, and reflected a time long gone. The oldest parts of the Spire in Crystal Heart were at least eight thousand years old, perhaps older. It had been built not long after the exile from what was now called the Lost Lands, which lay between the Dead Lands and the land of Tambelon. The history of this place spoke to her.

Unlike the Spire in Night's Heart, which was a thing of black metal, the Spire in Crystal Heart was a thing of purple and blue crystal. It would have been a rare thing of beauty in Ocid if the light and smog of the region didn't put such a sickly light upon it, and years of dust and filth had not built up upon its surface. Underneath that beauty was still there, waiting to be released, and there was something symbolic about that for all of Ocid.

As soon as they landed the group divided up to deal with different things. She, Sweet Pea, and Dove went off in a corner to have a discussion with Dove about the facts of estrus. A contingent of the guard sat nearby watching them. As they tried to get some privacy in a corner.

Quiet Word did what a considerate little colt would do and sat a little bit away from them, slightly out of earshot. He too was under guard, but being in sight of them was likely a small relief to her best friend who was nice enough to give this talk to Midnight's daughter.

There had been a bit of a commotion with explaining estrus to Dove at first, caused by one particularly poor miscommunication on Midnight's part. Midnight had told her daughter that it was okay for her to rub her personal area to sooth it, but had failed to include the part about doing it in private. Every one of the guards and Quiet Word had gotten a short view of her daughter masturbating right in front of them, before they told Dove that was something done in private by herself. Midnight was still blushing from the incident. Sweet Pea had taken full control of explaining the birds and bees to Dove after that.

Water Shadow and Peridot had gone into the Spire's inner chambers right away. Shadow had said that they were calm enough now that she trusted no pony would do anything hasty in a few minutes of absence. The two ancient ponies were going to negotiate with one another and discuss how they were going to negotiate with the Mare of Shadows.

One positive they had going for them was Peridot actually seemed to like Dove. In retrospect it wasn't too surprising. Out of all the ponies in Ocid Dove was probably the most like the Ponymother. She was going to be a big mare that was going to have a body ideally suited for two main tasks, fighting and breeding, exactly like the Ponymother. It wasn't surprising that Peridot Glow had a soft spot for this particular great grandfilly.

Water Shadow had told Midnight quietly that she needed to be prepared to defend herself and Dove very soon. Peridot would likely not do anything until after she had slept, but chances were Peridot would try to take some action against Dove at some point, regardless of whatever went down with the mirror, and despite Peridot's seeming affection for Dove, but the Ponymother was a mare committed to doing what she thought would be best for Ocid. It was that seeming affection that was giving them a little bit of time now, but that would likely not withstand another round of threats from the Mare of Shadows.

Sweet Pea was made aware as well, and the two of them were prepared to fight their way back out of Ocid if need be. If they could delay long enough before they needed to the four of them would try to make it back into the mirror when it again lighted itself. She would be able to help fend off a fair number of guards with her own blasts, they couldn't produce shields to guard against them, but Sweet Pea would have to be the one to actually get them to the mirror. Hopefully with twelve more years of training Midnight could be a bit more capable of doing things herself. If Peridot didn't break the mirror and trap them within. It was a risk, but it was all they had for a plan.

A familiar face came running out of the inner Spire and looked around at them quickly. Eyes widening as they settled on Midnight, before hurrying over to her. This was one of Peridot's secretaries. Her suit was very close to that of an acolyte's, and in practice there was very little difference between the acolytes and the secretaries, beyond the fact that the secretaries didn't stay by their mistress's side constantly. The two groups worked together with a lot of things, and there was some comradery between them. This one was a middle aged thestral mare by the name of Nighttide.

"Midnight, I am so glad to see you. I have a lot of questions for you, but those can wait. Is Sunset Shimmer here too? I heard about Water Shadow coming back, but not about your mistress," Nighttide said hurriedly, giving apprehensive glances at Midnight's wings and horn. For the first time Midnight really realized that she had grown taller than before, as she was now slightly taller than Nighttide where the opposite had been true before.

"I don't think Sunset is going to be coming back," Midnight said in a low voice. She didn't want to go into detail about what had become of Sunset right now, or think about it.

"I was afraid of that. I will ask how you ended up becoming an alicorn later, but right now I need you. The Ponymother is not taking proper interest in things that are going on, and we have a potentially big problem on our hooves. As an alicorn you have authority to order something done to take some action, it is in the bylaws of Ocid," Nighttide said in a pleading time.

"What is going on?" Midnight asked with a raise of her eyebrows. She hadn't been aware that the bylaws specifically gave alicorns in general any type of authority, she had thought they had referred only to Sunset and Shadow.

"We are dealing with widespread camera failures throughout Night's Heart, and I have reports those failures are starting to spread to Sire's Hallow and here in Crystal Heart. Worse there was some type of monster attack in Night's Heart just an hour or two ago. The thing apparently did a lot of damage to one apartment building, scared a lot of ponies, and massacred one. An actual monster attack, within the borders of the Dome! That should be impossible, but the reports are very clear, and because of the camera failures I can't even get a look at what it was!" Nighttide said in a frenzied voice.

"What?! A monster attack inside the Dome? You said you already told Peridot and she did nothing?" Midnight asked incredulously.

"She has been completely focused on your arrival back in Ocid. She refuses to even listen to any other report, no matter how urgent. She says nothing is more important than dealing with all of you right now. I don't know what went on between her and your mistress, but we have big problems going on right now that are far more important, and she won't even listen," Nighttide gave her exasperated reply.

"You are right, this is urgent. There has never been any sort of monster within the Dome. That means we must have been breached somewhere, and the fact that we are dealing with widespread camera failures at the same time can't be a coincidence," Midnight said. This was bad, really bad. Perhaps the Mare of Shadows was about to do a full scale assault on the city after all and everything else had just been a distraction. Perhaps the entire ordeal with Dove had just been some way of getting Sunset and Shadow out of the way, rather than a real care about Dove. It made her simmer with rage at the possibility.

"So what do we do? I need some pony with authority to give orders to do something. I know it might seem shaky ground to have an order come from you, but it technically is acceptable. Give me some sort of order so we can start doing something," Nighttide pleaded.

Midnight considered for a moment. She had never been in charge of anything before other than her making sure she completed her own duties. She didn't have any reason to believe she was qualified at this time to make decisions about what to do, but something had to be done now. She could at least get the obvious things taken care if right away.

"Get as many armed guards as can be spared out to Night's Heart and have them start searching the area in detail. We also need to get our eyes back in the city, get technicians out there and have them figure out what happened to the cameras and get them back online. Pull them from all jobs that can be put aside for the moment and get them working. Find out how those cameras went down and how to stop them from going down again," Midnight ordered in quick succession. These were all things that should already be happening, things that Nighttide likely could have thought to do herself if she had authority, but there was likely more that needed to be done.

"Yes alicorn, thank you for taking this seriously," Nighttide said with relief. Midnight wasn't sure she was comfortable just yet being addressed as alicorn as if it were some title, but didn't correct the mare. If she was going to make action take place she had to behave like she was to be taken seriously.

"I will do my best to get Water Shadow and Peridot to take immediate interest in this and figuring out what action next to take. I fear that we have all been duped by a big ruse on the necromancer's part. What we thought was important is going to need to take a back seat to this matter. Get to work with your tasks and I will get to work with the two ancients. Ocid survives," Midnight said quickly as she got to her hooves.

"Ocid survives. Good luck Midnight," Nighttide said with a bow of her head, before racing off to get to work on her orders.

Midnight was left to figure out how to convince Peridot of the fact they might have all been duped. She needed to go see her immediately.

"Sweet Pea, Dove, Quiet, come over here. This is urgent. Guards, I understand you are under orders to watch me and my friends. As an alicorn I invoke my right to give you orders that don't countermand Peridot's orders. Follow us, because I need to go speak with Peridot and Water Shadow now!" Midnight hoped that the guards would take her authority as an alicorn seriously. She didn't know what she would do if they questioned that authority. Bloody Tartarus, she even questioned whether she had the authority.

The guards all looked back and forth among one another, seemingly unsure if they were required to listen to her or not. That wasn't entirely bad, it meant they were at least considering it rather than laughing in her face. She didn't want to let it slip to where there was too much questioning though. She had to press that authority now.

"What's going on?" Sweet Pea asked as she hurried over to Midnight.

"We might have all been played for fools by the Mare of Shadows and Ocid might be in very real danger right now. We have to get Peridot and Water Shadow to take command and deal with this before it is possibly too late. Follow me," Midnight said as she started walking towards the inner chambers if the Spire. She turned towards the guards for a brief moment and believed with the full deafening volume of an alicorn. "Did I stutter? Follow us now. Ocid is in danger and we must act now to save it!"

The guards fell in line behind her, submitting to her authority.

Chapter 18: Reminders of a Mare that Once Was

Mera had drifted off to sleep while laying next to Pearl. She didn't need sleep, but something had forced her to go to sleep, and that was terrifying.

She looked around the void of the dream and saw the familiar table and chairs. She gulped as she went towards them. She was not normally intimidated by Grogar, but the continued existence of that pegasus filly after Mera had been ordered to kill it gave this meeting a far more sinister feel. She touched her hoof up to her bell, hoping that she was not about to lose it to the possession of that goat.

Mera took the same seat she had past time and waited patiently. Despite the fact this was a dream her heart was pounding in her chest. The fact that she had not been summoned, but instead forcibly brought her against her will did not bode well for her. She got to work trying to figure out how to plead her case while she waited.

There was not much time given to her however. The familiar stench of the old goat hit her nosterals like a hammer, and he walked casually by her from behind to his seat across from her. She held her breath as he sat down and looked at her with a devilish smile.

"My dear, you look a bit anxious, so out of character for you. Where's my defiant little pony who likes to spit and snarl at me? You act like I should have reason to be punishing you," Grogar laughed to himself.

Mera didn't answer, she knew that he was trying to get a further rise out of her. Her best bet at the moment was to play the part of an obedient servant to him. Make him think he had her completely intimidated. There was no acting involved with it this time though, she was intimidated, her bell was on the line.

"No answer? Just wanting to be respectful to get you out of your perceived predicament? Let me put your mind at ease my dear, I won't be taking your bell from you today. I have brought you to me for another matter altogether," Grogar said. His tone could almost be considered kind. Looking into his face she knew there was no kindness in him. He had some other sadistic intention in mind. The one positive thing was the bastard wasn't a liar, he had no need to lie when he could intimidate far more with the truth.

"What did you bring me her for then," she demanded, getting some of her nerve back.

"Aww, there we go, so much better when you're able to talk. I do so enjoy your defiant spirit. You're such a refreshing individual to deal with," Grogar laughed again.

"To the point, Goat," she hissed.

"Very well, to the point it is. I'm here because I have been watching you closely for a while. I watch all the Elder God's servants closely, it is a large part of my job. You have no secrets from me, none of you do. I've been watching as you try to maneuver yourself for my position, and know all about your long term goals," he said with a smile.

"And?" Mera asked, her blood running cold. She didn't know that he could know what she was planning till now, and she felt a sense of dread that all her hopes and dreams were about to come to an abrupt end.

"Honestly, I actually kind of liked your plans to tell the truth. It would mean our masters would be able to return to this world long after they finished it the first time and have a fresh banquet waiting for them. Your little reborn world would have many millennia to get itself back together again and then the process could start all over again. Our masters would be quite pleased with the prospect, like replanting a fallow field that has sat dormant after its last harvest. I have little reason to interfere with such a thing," Grogar said with a casual shrug.

"Then why even bring it up? Are you intending on helping me reach my goals?" Mera demanded. She needed to know what the old goat was getting at. No freedom from the Elder Gods was going to happen then, at least she could buy some time without them, but it was sickening to learn.

"Actually, I am going to be putting a halt to those plans. While in discussion with our masters there was a surge of inspiration from them, and they have decided to explore new options for causing the suffering and death we all so need on a much wider scale," Grogar explained.

"And that would be?" Mera asked, curious at what sadism the Elder Gods had concocted. She at least could still get Pearl.

"None of your concern, my dear. No, what I have to do with you now is offer you a fresh contract in place of your old one, one that you might find very agreeable," Grogar cackled as he spoke.

"What are the terms?" Mera asked apprehensively.

"Oh they are all so simple, and all favor you so much. You no longer will be required to exterminate all pony kind. Your kill requirements are reduced down to just that one pegasus being murdered in your Sanctuary Tomb. Further you don't have to worry about fighting it out for the final reward. You complete your contract and you get your lover's life returned to her, right then and there, no other stipulations. Further completion of your contract will free your soul from your bell, you will not have to live in fear of the need to protect that little ornament, the masters will give you back your soul and it will be purged of all corruption. They, and by extension I, promise to also do no harm to you and your precious Pearl, nor do anything to corrupt her or you once you complete the contract. Also there will be no order to any other acolyte current or future to eliminate Ponykind. All of this if you just take that pegasus to your Sanctuary Tomb and personally murder her there," Grogar said slyly.

"That all seems excessively generous. What is so important about that filly that you are willing to override my contract with one that gives such terms? What is the bloody catch, bastard," she snarled at him. She couldn't see it, but there had to be a catch. There was always a catch. The Elder Gods were all sadists who would never offer something like this if there wasn't some massive catch.

"There is no catch. No strings attached to this. Consider this a very generous severance package as our masters look in other directions," Grogar said in a businesslike tone. She wasn't buying it.

"Other directions? Do you have another acolyte waiting in the wings to replace me?" She asked.

"I have a number of candidates I are currently observing, at least a dozen of them that show some promise for what our masters are looking for in the new plan. I have not settled on who yet, but I am definitely watching carefully to see who is best to bring into the fold," Grogar said while extended her hooves apart.

"Is my sister one of them?" Mera said with her ears laid back.

"Oh certainly, but she is only one possible candidate. I am watching her, all the alicorns, their acolytes, and others. There are so many options. I am even considering the possibility of bringing Pinkie Pie back into the fold, or trying to work with that pegasus herself, death is no barrier that can't be overcome after all. Such a wide field of potential that I am watching, all with just a little bit of darkness in their souls that can be fostered, but there will only be one pony replacing you in the end, so I have to consider them all carefully," Grogar said with a smile.

He was talking like she would accept this deal and already making preparations to move on with another acolyte in her place. The sad truth was she knew she wanted to take this deal more than anything. It was a guarantee to give her Pearl back, not just a possibility of getting Pearl back. She had to find the catch though.

"What happens if I don't take this deal, and instead decide to keep my original contract?" Mera asked.

"Well my dear, I would be very disappointed, but I suppose things would have to continue as they had been. Our masters would have to abandon for the moment any of the newer plans, and have to work on them elsewhere," Grogar said in a very overacted display of disappointment.

"And if I sign it, and fulfill the terms, Pearl is restored as she was. No messing with her to make her a monster or side effects that would make her existence torture?" Mera demanded clarification.

Grogar nodded affirmation.

"And I am purged of all the Elder God's corruption, and am free to live my life as I choose with no meddling done to me?" She continued.

Grogar nodded affirmation.

"And the Elder Gods will no longer seek to eradicate Ponykind?" She finished.

"In the new direction Ponykind will definitely be allowed to flourish, with no new attempts to exterminate it or cause it suffering to it," Grogar said with a smile that was too large. He knew those smiles made her uncomfortable.

She sat considering the whole thing. What was the damn catch? She still wasn't seeing it, but it had to be there. She had covered all the details that seemed pertinent and found nothing so far. He wasn't going to tell her what this new direction was, and that made her very uneasy. It was too good to be true, which meant it was probably the most vile thing she could imagine.

It all didn't matter in the end though. Everything she ever could want was being given to her when she completed this contract. This was her chance at assuring the survival of Ponykind, her possible redemption, and most of all Pearl. The bastard was right to be speaking like he knew that she would accept the deal.

"I'll sign this new contract if you void the old one in the process," she finally said.

"I'm glad we can come to agreement, my dear," Grogar said with a heckle. Two contracts then suddenly appeared floating next to him. One was her current contract, the other the one that she had just agreed to sign. He laid them down before her on the table. She took the opportunity to read over the new contract to make sure it didn't add anything to what he had told her, or left anything out. It did appear to be exactly what he had said though. She gave her old contract another read over just in case she was missing something there, but saw nothing that would be relevant.

There was nothing left to do but sign. She willed her forehoof to bleed and pressed it to the new contract and felt the magic of the contract take hold upon her. As it took hold the old contract crumbled into dust and quickly faded from existence. She was both relieved and pissed to see that happen. Pissed because her last eight hundred years had been tied up in serving that contract and now she was being told it didn't even matter. She had made herself a true monster for the sake of the promises of that contract. It was a sick joke worthy of Pinkie Pie. Screw Grogar, screw Pinkie Pie, and screw the Elder Gods; she hated them all.

"I'll let you be about your work now. Please note your contract calls for the pegasus to die inside your Sanctuary Tomb by your hoof. I'm not particularly concerned with the timetable, you can kill her as an old mare for all I care, as long as it plays out that way. However, you are on a timetable despite my lack of concern. If she dies in any other way you have failed in your contract and your soul belongs to me," Grogar leered as he spoke.

And there it was, there was the catch, and she had been stupid to miss it. He was going to try to make sure the pegasus died before she could do the deed. She would be his eternal slave, and this contract would be void because she couldn't fulfill the conditions. A tightness seized her chest as she realized the full implications of what she had just done. This was possibly the end of any freedom she had, the end of any future for Ponykind free from the Elder Gods, and most of all an end to any chance at Pearl's resurrection. Damn it, she might have just made the worst mistake of her life.

"Bye bye now, clock is ticking my dear," Grogar said as he winked out of the dream, leaving her alone in the void. Clock was ticking indeed, and she needed to move fast before Grogar could do whatever it was he had planned for the pegasus. He likely already had plans in motion, some other acolyte moving in to kill the pegasus before she could get the pegasus back to Sanctuary Tomb and slay her herself. Her first priority was making sure the pegasus survived long enough for her to be captured.

Mera needed allies and she needed them now. She couldn't trust Pinkie Pie, that clause about killing the pegasus by her own hoof sounded too much like Pinkie Pie was a trap waiting to be sprung within the Sanctuary Tomb, especially with Pinkie Pie being among the list of candidates for her replacement. Mera could see that now. It did no good if she got the pegasus back to Sanctuary Tomb only to have Pinkie strike first. She would have to figure out a way to deal with that problem very soon.

Unfortunately all of her potential protectors of the pegasus were also on Grogar's list of candidates and were all suspect as a result. There was only one among them that she felt she could trust completely not to be in Grogar's sway. Sunset Shimmer's mind had been open to Mera, and Mera saw nothing that indicated Grogar had any influence on Sunset yet. Sunset might listen to her, Sunset wanted to redeem her after all. If she didn't then her next bet was Peridot. She would try both no matter what. They were both likely going to be less afraid of her now that they knew who she was, but that might be a benefit to her. Trying to convince any pony was going to be a struggle as she was going to be pleading for help to ponies that saw her as the worst possible threat to their lives.

Mera went into action and moved herself into the greater dream realm, so she could search out sleeping ponies. Sunset had been exhausted from their fight, and hopefully she was sleeping or would be asleep soon. Sunset was Mera's best hope at the moment. She just hoped she hadn't already missed her opportunity. Her emotions were running on overdrive as she went searching.

The lights appeared all around her and she searched them frantically for the right one. She let off a sigh of relief as she spotted Sunset's. The alicorn was resting now. Hopefully Sunset had already made her way back to Ocid and could get to action right away. It would take time to talk to Sunset, and time was of the essence. There was no telling how quickly whatever Grogar had planned was going to take place. Mera dived into the dream.

Inside the dream she found herself in one of Sunset's memories being played out. Sunset was reliving their original duel. Not a surprising memory to be reliving right now, but it was something Mera would have to put a stop to right away. There was no time for a walk down memory lane.

Mera shattered the dream memory and stood before Sunset's dream form. Sunset gaped at her as she did.

"Sorry to break up your dream and memory, but I'm in a hurry, and you need to be too," Mera said frantically to the alicorn.

"I didn't expect you to seek me out this quickly, Mera. I am actually glad you did, there were some things I wanted to speak to you about," Sunset said evenly.

"Whatever you want to speak to me about will have to wait, as will the task I asked of you. Something far more urgent has come up that I need your help on. I need you to do whatever it takes to protect the pegasus now," Mera said hurriedly.

Sunset's mouth just dropped for a moment, and when she closed it she took up a look of suspicion.

"That's a complete about face from you. While it definitely seems like something I was going to do anyway, I have to wonder why you've gone from saying you're going to kill Dove no matter what to Dove has to be protected at all costs," Sunset said in a level tone.

"Because I'm apparently a bigger idiot than you. Grogar tricked me into signing a new contract that voided out my old one, but if anything kills the pegasus, other than me within my home, then we all lose. And I mean anything else killing her, even old age. I'm sure he already has some plan in action to kill the pegasus before I can get her into place and finish her myself. That cannot be allowed to happen," Mera said with emotion filling her voice. She was panicked and it was showing, and she didn't care. She needed Sunset's help.

"Why? What reason should I have not to protect her from you as well just like I have been? What does this new contract of yours call for exactly?" Sunset said skeptically.

"I've but one duty; to kill the pegasus by my own hoof within Sanctuary Tomb. If I do so I get Pearl back, I get purified of corruption, and Ponykind gets to live. I knew it sounded too good to be true when it was offered to me, and I tried hard to find the catch. After I signed Grogar dropped the catch on me. He has possession of my bell if I fail, his agreements about leaving Ponykind alive are void, and that will be it. I'll be but his weapon for Ponykind's likely immediate extermination, all hope for resurrecting Ponykind will be lost, and most of all, Pearl will never live again. We can't let that happen," Mera said near tears now.

"Why should I believe you, Mera? Why should I believe you're not just lying to get what you want? I want to bring you back into the light, but this isn't the way," Sunset said in a sad tone.

"Screw you, Sunset! Do you want to take another run through my mind to confirm the truth? I'm begging you to do something you were going to do anyway, protect the damn pegasus. I'm just alerting you to the fact Grogar has a bloody plan probably already in motion to try to kill her before I can do so," Mera was in tears now. How had she been this stupid? It was all going to fall through after all this time. She should have just kept her original contract. It was bad, but it was no where near the risk of this contract. How in bloody Tartarus was she supposed to make sure that pegasus remained alive long enough and got positioned correctly with Grogar likely already with a plan before he presented that contract? Protecting one pony was infinitely harder than trying to kill one, especially when Grogar was the one pulling the strings of the killers.

"If your entire fate, and ours, depends on her I think you should start calling her by name. The name of your victim is Dove, stop calling her the pegasus. She is a living being, not a thing," Sunset said scornfully.

"Alright then, Dove it is. I need you to protect Dove, any way you can. I'll do anything I can to help you," Mera cried.

"Why should I accept help from a pony that is committed to killing Dove herself?" Sunset asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I see what you're doing Sunset, and we don't have time for it. You're trying to pull your damn redemption crap on me by making me agree not to kill Dove. I walked my contract back from killing all Ponykind for this one, you damn moralistic prick! This isn't about me being good, or evil, or anything like that. This is potentially the end of the line for every pony. You want me to be redeemed? I've one last vile thing to do and after that is done you can try your best to make me the most perfect little pony that ever lived. Dove has to die in Sanctuary Tomb by my hoof, however that is made to happen. She could be an old mare on her deathbed when it happens, but it has to go down that way. I can't kill her anywhere else without failing the contract so she is safe from me if she is anywhere else," Mera snarled at the alicorn. Sunset had to see reason. This wasn't some moral dilemma, this was the fate of everything.

Sunset sat and stared at her for a long moment saying nothing, before finally sighing.

"Tell me how to seal ascension within a universe. I know you know how. I want to seal the ability to ascend within the mirror world and keep the mirror intact. Dove can be safe in the mirror world from any dark power, at least for a time. It solves our mutual alicorn problem, and gives her safety. With some care she live a full life over the course of a few days and could as an old mare present herself for death by your hoof, if she so chooses. I won't present her to you at that point, she has to choose to do so. That's my suggestion on how to deal with this, and the best offer for help you will get from me. I will not condone murder of an innocent no matter what. If she chooses to sacrifice herself that is her call," Sunset finally said with lowered ears .

"I can agree to that," Mera said as she dried her tears. She wasn't sure it was going to be good enough, but it would have to do for an agreement for now. She would try to honor it if she could afford to. If Dove didn't consent she would have to do it by force. Mera couldn't afford to just go full nice-nice. She might want to try, but reality didn't work that way. But she could try to be if it would secure help.

"Is there anything else you aren't telling me?" Sunset said in a low voice.

"Yes, there is something," Mera answered solemnly. "Grogar is planning on replacing me one way or another. He said he has a list of candidates to replace me. He listed off Peridot, you, Water Shadow, that new alicorn that ascended, and others. He even listed off Dove and Pinkie Pie, saying the grave is no barrier. He intends to tempt some pony into a contract, and it's likely going to be some pony close to you, if not you yourself. Grogar is a master at playing on others' temptations. Hydia was the one who tried to tempt Peridot before, but she is no where near the same league as Grogar in trying to drive a bargain. He's only going to take one, but he will do it. Grogar always wins in the end with such things."

"So you're telling me I'll be trading you for another of my friends in terms of madness," Sunset said in a voice devoid of emotion. Mera could only nod back.

Sunset then laid down and wept in front of her. Mera watched as the suffering filled her with bliss, causing her to shiver with physical pleasure. Mera snarled at herself, hating herself for getting bliss from this, but glad that it dulled her panic some. She looked back at Sunset being miserable and made a decision.

Mera dropped her shadow and flame to retake her crystal pony form, and then went over to the crying alicorn. Mera still had tears in her own eyes from before. She then did something she hadn't done in well over a thousand years. She bent down and she hugged the alicorn.

Sunset froze at the sign of affection from what was likely the most vile and twisted pony to ever live. Then Sunset wrapped first a wing and then a foreleg around Mera and returned the embrace. And so the two sat for a long moment. It was a step, a small step, but a step, towards trying to mend her soul. Hopefully soon she would never feel bliss again from suffering. Damn that goat for giving her hope. All she could do now was latch onto that hope for all it was worth.

"You give good hugs," Mera whispered.

Being dead was one of the most un-fun things ever. Pinkie had observed this fact time and time again over the last thousand years. She didn't understand the full mechanics of being a ghost, but she understood she couldn't get more than a certain distance from her body. That distance didn't extend much past this tomb complex. Pinkie wondered what would happen when her body finally turned to dust, if she would finally be able to pass on or face a worse fate.

One impulsive moment long ago in a moment of sorrow had led her to this point. She had gotten upset about the fact that her friends had become such mockeries of their old selves, nothing like the good ponies they were, and Grogar had been waiting with a contract to take advantage of her impulsive nature. He had been whispering in her ear for some time before, and he had eventually manipulated her into a signature. She had tried avoiding doing that contract as long as she could. Grogar finally got tired of her refusals and took her bell. Then he made her do terrible, awful things.

Then he had given her an opportunity to get her bell back, and by that point she was so ready to do anything. She did what he wanted and got it back, and then a few short years later Bibulous had crushed it. Grogar had known what would happen. Grogar had a horrible sense of humor.

At least she had some hope to make everything alright in the end. Bibulous was helping her see to it there would be a world where ponies didn't have to deal with monsters anymore. She was just so tired of being bored all the time.

"Hello Pinkie Pie," gave a grating voice.

Pinkie looked to the source and saw the source of her misery, Grogar himself. Actually it wasn't him, only a projection, she could tell right away. He couldn't actually leave Tambelon, because the masters had a sicker sense of humor than he did.

"I was wondering if you would be interested in living again. I have an offer," the goat said with a smile.

Pinkie knew what came of listening to Grogar's offers, but with how bored she was what was the harm?

First Word wandered the ruins of the long forgotten city just observing. Here and there were little remnants of a world long gone, and she wished to understand it. She didn't know what else to do with herself.

Her mother had seemingly abandoned her and her sisters. Her mother seemed not to care that they could have been destroyed in the conflict with the alicorn, and had left that area without bothering to check on them or give them any orders. There was no direction, so they had to find one. This place had once been filled with many purposes. Creatures had walked these streets and gone about various different purposes. Perhaps some lost purpose still remained.

"You look list and alone, my dear. Has your mother turned her back on you?" A voice asked.

First Word turned her attention to the source of the voice. There was a mural on the a still standing wall of some collapsed building. It was the image a smiling Yak.

"Your mother cares more about that pegasus than she cares about you it seems. A mother should care for her daughter. Why doesn't The Mare if Shadows care for you? Perhaps she isn't a very good mother. Perhaps you need to find a new purpose," the mural said to her.

She listened intently.

The throne room of Tambelon once belonged to some sort of royalty, but Grogar couldn't remember who or what they were. They had fallen to him so long ago it escaped all memory. Their existence was chronicled away in his journals, but he only wrote them, he rarely ever read any of them. There were many journals, a full library, all gathering dust.

Grogar had once been a being with some perceived purpose. He guessed he most likely had wanted power, he sat on some dead civilization's throne after all, but now such things were meaningless to him. All things were ultimately meaningless, things that would be lost eventually, and ceased to be cared about. Why concern himself with any meaningless things?

Now he had but one purpose, to serve the Elder Gods. He was their perfect thrall, and he was satisfied with such an existence; it had as much value as any other. He received the bliss of the world's suffering, but really could care less. Bliss like everything else was but a passing thing. Watching a creature's dreams turn into a nightmare, and learning that there was no true hope or purpose, that was true bliss.

The Elder Gods had recently changed their minds about how to best feed themselves on suffering. They had a grand plan about causing suffering over countless worlds, instead of focusing on just one at a time to feed off of. Even beings as powerful as they were not constants, even their will was just another passing thing. Whatever their will was he would do; there was no point in resisting their will just as there was no point questioning it. Why should he care if it had changed? He got what he wanted along the way after all.

There was a small joy for him in this particular task though. He would get to make that pathetic little upstart mare see the pointlessness of it all; that all her planning and manipulation meant nothing in the end. Crushing such fantasies gave him a perverse pleasure. He knew that that too served no point, but as a pointless being he was allowed to have pointless joys.

All was progressing nicely. Already he was making contact with some of the candidates for her replacement, and he would make contact with many more yet. Twisting creatures against what they once believed was another of his meaningless joys, and there was so much potential all around to plunge them all into doing so. He wondered which one would actually succeed in breaking that mare.

Of course there was an outside chance she might stop him, but such a victory for her was also but a passing thing. She would soon find her victory just the beginnings of a new nightmare, one that she had part in making, so he won no matter what. He would teach her that there was no true hope.

Chapter 19: Friends, Enemies, and Everything In Between

"And that is why I am convinced this has all just been a ruse to divide and conquer Ocid," Midnight finished her declaration to the two ancient ponies.

"It seems like there is definitely something at work, Midnight. Something we should definitely take immediate action on, but I am not so sure it is Mera who is behind it," Water Shadow said.

"Don't call the necromancer that! We haven't confirmed that my sister is indeed the necromancer," Peridot growled.

"She certainly responded to Sunset as if it were truth, and I have faith in Midnight's divination, but if you wish we will call her The Mare of Shadows for now," Water Shadow gave as an exasperated reply. It was a private meeting between the three of them, so there was no pony to overhear.

"Getting to the point, it does seem unlikely that it is the necromancer's doing," Peridot grumbled.

"And why are you both convinced that it isn't her?" Midnight demanded.

"Because she doesn't need to do something like this, she could crush Ocid with ease with the size of the army she has raised. She has absolutely no need for subtly. You yourself saw the size of that horde out there. Maybe now that I am stronger we can do something about it attacking, but she could have easily crushed us before I got stronger, and from what you describe this started before we even left the mirror," Water Shadow explained.

Water Shadow's explanation made perfect sense actually. Which left Midnight feeling a bit foolish for assuming it was The Mare of Shadows at work. So much for her taking some sort of charge of a situation.

"It is something to worry about though. It could be another weaker one of the Elder Gods' acolytes or it could be some form of preparation for rebellion," Peridot said thoughtfully.

"And it was going on without you paying it one bit of attention," Midnight accused, trying to regain some of her ground.

"You are right, that is a massive failure on my part. I was too distracted from my duties and let a problem grow under my muzzle. The orders you gave are likely the ones that needed to be given, and we can only wait to find what is uncovered by them. If we weren't likely to have a very serious dispute between us in the next day I would be happy to have you back in Ocid as Sunset's replacement," Peridot said sadly.

"You say you are going to stab us in the back very casually," Midnight snarled.

"I am saying I likely will. I don't know for sure what will go down when I go to bed. I am pretty certain I know what I am going to be told, that Ocid will not survive the week if we harbor your daughter. I am be extremely kind in not taking action until I have met with that monster again. I am even giving you time to prepare response for what I will almost certainly have to do. I am not a monster, or at least I try not to be. I have made a lot of mistakes by being either too lazy or too hasty. I am trying to also better. I like your daughter, more than I like the vast majority of my progeny, but the fate of all Ocid comes first," Peridot said with lowered ears.

"You could try calling her bluff about whether she will attack. Water Shadow might be able to combat the whole horde herself now," Midnight suggested.

"Even if that were true, it doesn't mean much. Water Shadow could fight undead till they are all dust, but the second the necromancer engages us herself we are doomed. Water Shadow can't hold back that demon, even with as strong as she is now," Peridot said with a glare.

"It is my daughter, I won't surrender her to that monster!" Midnight hollered at Peridot.

"It is every single last one of my descendants, I won't let them die for the sake of just one! You shouldn't even be here, you should be taking that mirror of yours and trying to find somewhere to keep safe during the night outside of Ocid. Do you think I want to give your daughter over? That I get some sort of perverted delight out of it? I have to make the hard choices for the sake of all my ponies, the whole of my grandfoals. By all right I shouldn't even be giving any of you the time of day. I should be killing your daughter myself and tossing her body out for The Mare of Shadows to find, but here I am fm doing something enormously stupid yet again by letting you all in here to put Ocid in danger,," Peridot yelled back.

"So why are you?" Midnight hissed.

Peridot just stared silently at Midnight for a long moment. A cold hateful stare. After several moments she lowered her eyes and ears and her posture slumped.

"Because for a moment I thought I might be something better than a mare out of her league and failing her grandfoals, but the truth is that is all I will ever be. In the end I have failed Ocid, and I am just gasping to try to keep it afloat. I have failed all my life, and continue to fail," Peridot said in a near whisper.

It was hard for Midnight to form any sort of response to that. It really didn't answer her question, but it was still hard for her to press Peridot after hearing that. It didn't help that Midnight agreed wholeheartedly with Peridot's assessment of what the Ponymother had accomplished to date. The utter misery in Ocid was enough testament to that. It also was not in Midnight's nature to kick a mare when she was down.

"Ocid still survives after eight centuries of the necromancer, despite all other nations falling, that should be a sign you have accomplished something of worth," Water Shadow suggested.

"If it turns out to be true that Biblo is the necromancer that survival could just be by virtue that she didn't want to kill her own sister and withheld her final blow. That is no skill of mine, that is an accident of birth," Peridot said glumly.

"It also means you might be the only pony capable of reasoning with her," Midnight decided to say.

"That's wistful thinking. Did you know she mentally tortured me right before I gave the order to capture your filly? If that is my sister she lost all affection for me long ago. I think the idea that my own sister could despise me so much is the main reason I am denying it is her. I heard your story, and I knew her obsession with Pearl had no bounds. Biblo would sign away her soul for Pearl. It isn't fair to Pearl, because Pearl was a good pony who would have been appalled by all Biblo has done, but I think I hate her the fact Biblo loved her so much there wasn't room for anyone else," Peridot said glumly.

"Or it could mean you still want to think the best of your sister after all this time. Maybe that is what can give you an edge in talking to her now. She has withheld destroying Ocid and if that is because if you that means somewhere in her she still cares for you. If you confront her with the knowledge that you know who she is perhaps she will be more willing to talk. Sunset seemed to want to try to reform her. You might be the only living pony that can get through to the pony she once was," Water Shadow said sagely.

"If I am the last hope then we are all doomed. You have no idea how much these last two days have made me realize how abject a failure I am," Peridot whimpered. It was a pathetic sight seeing the Ponymother reduced to this. The Mare of Shadows had really done a number on her, not that Peridot Glow had been in a good mental place before Dove had been born. Peridot was going from being under too much pressure to breaking under pressure.

"When the matter of the filly is resolved, however it is resolved, I want you to take full control of Ocid. Stepping aside and letting some pony more capable than I be in charge is perhaps the best thing I can do for my ponies. I should never have been in charge. Use me how you wish, but I don't want this job anymore," Peridot said with a pleading look to Water Shadow.

"What all did Mera do to you that broke your spirit?" Water Shadow said with a sad gaze at Peridot.

"Perhaps a favor in letting me see how incapable I truly am. It might not have been been her completely. My nightmares are my own, even if she did play them to her own ends," Peridot said without meeting Water Shadow's gaze.

Midnight just watched the whole exchange. For the first time she felt some kinship with her ancestor. They both thought themselves completely in over their heads, unworthy of the power they had within them, and completely at a loss about how to keep what was most precious to them safe. Midnight had been dealing with all this just a few short years, Peridot had been dealing with this over a millennia. Would she herself last a fraction as long without breaking under pressure?

"We will take care of dealing with whatever is going on with the cameras and the monster attack, as well as get ourselves ready to keep my daughter safe from you and The Mare of Shadows." That was an awkward thing to have to say. "I think it is time for you to go to bed and face the demon," Midnight said, as she tried to seem confident in her new role as a pony of authority.

Peridot just gave her an expressionless stare for a long moment, before nodding an sighing.

"Perhaps you are right. Why put this off? I just hope you are prepared to deal with me when I wake up," Peridot said in a low voice.

"We have about two hours till the mirror is ready again. Let's hope you aren't having a short nap," Water Shadow said to Peridot while glaring at Midnight.

"Don't worry about that. I will definitely be still asleep in two hours. You will have access to your mirror. Though you might want to move it somewhere I can't find it to be safe," Peridot said.

"We shall see to that, the fact that we are dealing with camera failures certainly works to our benefit in this case," Water Shadow replied.

It was still surreal having a conversation about Peridot hunting them down with Peridot with the Ponymother actually giving them every chance possible to elude her. Midnight couldn't figure the Ponymother out. If she was so certain she would be doing this, and that it was needed to have Ocid survive, then why give them so many chances to get away? Was it just Peridot's weak attempts at showing defiance to her sister? Was it so if the got away again Peridot could just shrug her shoulders at The Mare of Shadows and say that she made an attempt, even if it was a delayed attempt, and hope that was good enough? If Midnight were in Peridot's position it would seem too big a risk on her part.

Midnight put those thoughts aside for the moment as Peridot left them to go sleep. Whatever Peridot's reasoning there was work to do. They needed to do some final following up on the camera issue and then get themselves in place to run away again.

"I am not going to say much about you pressing Peridot like that, I know you are under stress as well. I have a plan though for dealing with everything that I wasn't going to discuss in front of her," Water Shadow said without looking at Midnight, instead looking at the door Peridot exited out of.

"And that is?" Midnight asked curiously.

"I am telling you up front you won't like it," Water Shadow said.

"If it keeps my daughter safe it doesn't matter if I like it," Midnight said more forcefully than she intended. Her emotions were still running high.

"It was just a warning to brace yourself. The plan is for Dove and Quiet Word to go through the mirror by themselves. That leaves the rest of us to guard the mirror on this side so it can't be shattered in the twelve hours. I will pressure Peridot into conceding control of Ocid to me and then she will be removed as a threat. We keep buying Dove time to live her life. In a few days time she will have lived a long and full life, and then she will do what all ponies do after their years are spent, removing the threat altogether from Mera. The problem would be if she ascends in the meantime, but we will tackle that when and if it comes up," Water Shadow said, now looking Midnight in the eyes.

"That would make it so I lose Dove in a few days time still," Midnight growled.

"That is a rather selfish statement. Dove wouldn't see it as a few days time, she would have a long, and likely happy life. It might seem six or seven days time to us, but for her it would be decades. Who's well being are we concerned about, your's or her's"" Water Shadow said with a raised eyebrow.

"But I would see so little of her life. I would get to see her for twelve hours every twelve years of her life," Midnight said, tears forming in her eyes.

"I am sure we can spare you for a few minutes here and there to let you go visit. A few minutes could be a month of time there. It is for her own good and for the good of Ocid. Peridot is not wrong, Dove's presence here presents a very real threat to every pony. This is the only possible compromise," Water Shadow said with lowered ears.

"I could spend all my time there. You don't need me on this side of the mirror," Midnight countered.

"If there weren't a potential crisis happening already under our hooves we might be able to spare you for that, but the truth is I need you here. You are an Alicorn, and as an Alicorn you have a responsibility to all ponies, not just your daughter. If Mera sends the undead horde down on us then it will take more than just me to keep ponies safe, and I cannot guard both the mirror and them, not to mention giving Ocid the leadership in needs right now. We don't even know the nature of the threat that is already in action inside of Ocid. I need you here. You have to just accept that you are giving her a life that she wouldn't otherwise have," Water Shadow gave as a stern reply.

Midnight cried, because Water Shadow was right. This was giving Dove the life she deserved, a better life than she would have had in Ocid, and it was one that was protecting Ocid too. Hadn't this been their plan more or less anyway? The only element that was different was Midnight would not be actively involved with most of that life, and her protests were completely selfish in nature. This was about protecting her daughter and every other pony, not what was pleasant for herself.

"Your right, I guess it has to be this way. I guess we should find one of Peridot's secretaries before we waste too much time, and after we are done with that we start doing what needs to be done with the mirror," she said in a low voice.

"I know it is hard, but try to take some comfort that you are doing right by your daughter," Water Shadow said sympathetically.

Midnight just lamely nodded.

Peridot could now feel the familiar sensation of the necromancer entering into her dreams. It was like her fur fluffing, or the feel of a too cool wind, a sense of wrongness that came only from something that was an affront to what was natural and right. There was no dream in progress, just the empty void beyond herself. This time would be different, this time she had information and nerve.

"Is it true?" Peridot said aloud before the necromancer could bring herself into view.

"I take it Water Shadow and the others made it back to Ocid and have spoken with you. Yes Peri, it is true," came an almost sad voice.

"Don't you dare act sad now, and don't use that nickname! You don't have any right to such things," Peridot shouted into the void.

"You might be right, but I am indeed sad. I never wanted you to know. There is a reason I walked around calling myself The Mare of Shadows instead of any of my actual names. I suppose at this point that the name I took to hide behind fits me better than any of the others. Though I am hoping to change that," came the voice's cryptic reply.

"Show yourself! Just because you don't have a name to hide behind anymore doesn't mean you should hide from me," Peridot declared.

Then out of the void her sister appeared. Not an pony bathed in shadow and flame, not even her Thestral form that she had preferred for all of Peridot's teen and early adult years, but her original Crystal Pony form. The only difference was she had that infernal belled collar around her neck. She just sat gazing at Peridot. Then Biblo shivered, not a shiver like she was cold, but like she had just experienced some sexual arousal. After the shiver Biblo grimaced.

"You are suffering a lot right now. I can feel it strongly," Biblo said in a weird mix of tone that somehow bordered between grief and having an orgasm.

"Getting some sort of sick pleasure off my suffering?" Peridot growled then spit.

"May you never know how much I actually am. It isn't a choice on my part. I have absorbed the nature of the Elder Gods into myself, and now feed and essentially get high off of the suffering from others. It is a bliss that I can't stop from feeling. I don't want to feel it right now, at least I mentally don't want to, but it is part of what I am. I hope to one day be purged of this, but for now it is something that I can never have enough of," Biblo said sadly, then had another shiver.

"I looked up to you, respected you, defended your intent when every other pony called you a monster. Now I look upon you and see that they were right, that's all you ever were weren't you? Just another monster," Peridot said accusingly.

"I know you won't believe me, but I am sorry to have fallen so far below your expectations," Biblo said with lowered ears.

"Why should I believe you? After all that you have done? After what you did to me? With what you are still doing now? This is likely all some sort of act on your part to get what you want, or to torment me further. Because that's what you do; you hurt, you kill, you torture, just to get your sick kicks off it," Peridot snarled. She wasn't going to let herself be tricked this time. Perhaps this monster was once her sister, but that mare died long ago in spirit.

"I do get sick kicks off it, but I do this all so I can revive Pearl and give Ponykind a chance of a future without the Elder Gods," Biblo said with lowered eyes. Why did Peridot have to keep thinking of this creature as Biblo? It wasn't her, just some abomination wearing her face that might have once been her sister.

"I can believe you on Pearl, you were always way too obsessed with her. So obsessed you likely were going to end up doing her harm in the end without thinking. Oh wait, you did, didn't you? You went and killed her, you..." Peridot was cut off from saying anymore as she suddenly found herself knocked down and held down. Her sister glared down at her hatefully with teeth bared.

"Don't you ever speak to me about that again! I know what I did, and I don't need any reminders. The majority of my life has been spent trying to undo that mistake, and I have sold my soul to do so. I have had to deal with Sunset mocking me already about it. I won't tolerate any more. Not from you, not from any pony," Biblo snarled as she slip the words into Peridot s face. Then Biblo released her and walked a short distance back.

Peridot got back on her hooves and just looked at her sister sadly. How had things gone this wrong for Biblo? What could Peridot have done differently so Biblo would not have turned out like this?

"I did not come here to hurt you further, nor did I come here for the reasons you might think. I have had a major change in plans. I need you to keep Dove safe," Biblo said with a still angry tone to her voice. The statement made Peridot's eyes go wide.

"Not that I am going to say no to that, because it is something I actually want to do, but why?" Peridot asked suspiciously. There had to be a trick involved with this. This was what the others had wanted too. Were they all in league together against her?

"Because my contract has been renegotiated. I now must kill her by my own hoof in a very particular place, but I fear that Grogar might be making a move to try to kill her before I can do that. If he manages to do that he will take my bell," Biblo said as she looked down at the bell in question.

"So it is all for your own self interest then? I am guessing you want me to keep her safe for you to have her personally delivered to you or personally pick her up? Still intent on doing murder. Still a monster,," Peridot said with another spit to the nonexistent ground. She guessed that might at least be a sign that Water Shadow and the others were honest.

"You know, I am kind off happy you know about me. It makes you much more spirited. You wouldn't have dared talk to me this way before, and honest conversations are in short supply," Biblo said with a bemused smile.

"I am a mare with nothing left to lose. Finding out about you is my final straw. I am going to be turning control of Ocid over to Water Shadow and retiring from a leadership role," Peridot said in a more defeated voice. Turning control over to some pony her sister couldn't manipulate was the best route. Peridot knew in her heart that she was not the pony to resist Biblo.

"It is probably for the best. It was unfair to you to have had to lead a nation in such circumstances. Maybe in another time and place, but not like this. I trust Water Shadow to keep Dove safe, and she must be kept safe, or you don't want to imagine what Grogar will have me do once he gets my bell. I would have you deliver a message for me. If it takes until she is an old mare on her deathbed she has to die by my hoof or all is lost. It has to happen at my Sanctuary Tomb as well. I will be coming to Ocid shortly, along with Sunset, to make sure Dove is safe until that can be safely done, and I will do all in my power to keep her safe until then. You have that mirror, use it, and keep her safe there. I will be teaching Sunset how to do away ascending on that world so she can't ascend and ruin everything for every pony by accident. Until then she is free to live her life happily," Biblo said.

"Wait wait wait, so many questions," Peridot said with wide eyes. "Sunset is alive?"

"She is alive. She is in the ruins of Harmony right now, and I will be going to her shortly after I wake up. I was actually in her dream right before yours," Biblo confirmed.

"I thought you killed her. That was what the others were saying," Peridot said, still trying to process the news.

"I nearly did. It is a long story I don't have time for me right now. If you get a drone out to the western coast you will see some radically changed geography as a result of our fight. She will give you the details on why she is still among the living when she gets to you. And no, you don't need to fear her being my thrall or anything like that. She and I just have some mutual goals, keeping Dove alive is among those," Biblo said.

"And you are suddenly just all nice about letting Dove live a full life. Why?" Peridot asked with suspicion.

"It was a compromise with Sunset for her assistance. I have a new contract, and it is one that will fulfilled when Dove dies by my hoof in Sanctuary Tomb. If she dies as a old mare at the end of her life that is as good as dead as a filly. Once that is done my corruption will be gone and I will be free from my bell, and I hope I can avoid killing any pony ever again to tell the truth. I get Pearl back, I get the Elder Gods to leave Ponykind alive, and I get a chance to be a decent pony; it is an all win contract for me if I complete it," Biblo chuckled as she spoke, but then looked up with a serious expression.

"I also have some housecleaning that needs to be done back at home before I bring Dove there. A particular housemate that needs to be shown the door," Biblo said with a grimace.

"What do your masters get out of it?" Peridot asked still suspicious.

"That is the rub. First, they don't expect me to succeed because they intend to see Dove dead before I can do it. It is a trap, but one I intend to risk. Second, they get me out of way and put another in my place," Biblo looked down as she said this, refusing to look Peridot in the eyes.

"Who will be your replacement?" Peridot asked with a chill going down her spine.

"That I don't know. Grogar listed off possibilities to me of ponies he will try to tempt with a contract. I don't know who all of them are, but I know you are on the list of candidates. Peri, please, no matter what, don't sign a contract with that goat. No matter how tempting he makes it you will end up regretting it in the end," Biblo said as she raised her gaze to meet Peridot's.

"I can believe you on that. Last question is why is Dove so important?" Peridot said, not willing to pursue any more thought on the matter of Biblo's potential successor.

"I don't know," Biblo said with a shrug and a laugh. "Perhaps she has no importance beyond being the piece Grogar is playing his whole sick game with me over. Maybe she can do something great. I just don't know the answer to that. She is important because the Elder Gods decided to have her be important. Who knows but them?"

"You seem different. Typically you are a lot more menacing," Peridot said as she watched her sister. She wasn't sure she bought the explanation about Dove being important only because of some arbitrary choice to make her important, but she wasn't going to pursue the subject if Biblo wasn't going to give any answers.

"I am a monster that sees her chance at some sort of salvation. So I am trying to be better. Believe me it is not so casually easy as it looks. I am resisting all kinds of urges to hurt you. If I can hold out just a few days with Dove going through her life quickly I will be alright, if it goes too long it will be harder. The urge to take in that bliss from suffering and death is very powerful. I will lose what aid I might gain if I give into those urges though, so I resist them for now. If I fail in this contract it won't matter anymore. As Grogar said to me, clock is ticking," Biblo said looking down again.

"Well then, I suppose I suppose that I should be waking up and seeing to things. I will see what can be done to protect Dove. As for the rest..I don't know Biblo..I will discuss it with wiser minds than me," Peridot said. "This was a much different conversation than I was expecting. I don't know what will come of it, but it was good to talk to my sister and not The Mare of Shadows for once."

"I am a long way from being a sister again, but I hope one day. I am going to release you from this dream. Please move fast to protect her, because I am sure Grogar will be trying to take action quickly," Biblo said, and before winking out of the void.

A moment later Peridot woke with a start. She didn't get up right away, she instead sat and wept for several minutes for her sister.

Sweet Pea jerked her head up suddenly. She had been more exhausted from the day than she had thought. Checking the time magically she realized she had to have been up over a full day by the time she just dozed off. She would need to get some proper rest soon, as a few minute laying out in a hall wasn't going to cut it.

She had the strangest dream in that little bit of time. It had been full of nonsense. A little bird had been there telling her that Sunset was alive and had allied herself with the necromancer, and was going to work with the necromancer to stop Sweet Pea's plans for the creation of Alicorns. That was the first bit of ridiculous news that the bird had told her. Sunset would never do that, Sunset had gone off to die versus the necromancer so they would have a chance of even doing the plan.

The next part of the what the bird said went into pure horseshit. It said that the only thing keeping the necromancer maintaining her power right now was Dove, and that she needed to kill Dove. It said that if she killed Dove that she would be given the power to see her dreams of come true and protect Quiet Word from anything. It said that the necromancer was going to do everything she could to protect Dove in order to protect her power. Sweet Pea thought that was a hilarious belief for the bird to have. The Mare of Shadows had sent abominations out to kill the filly, she definitely wanted Dove dead. The bird said she would see and know it had been telling the truth.

Sweet Pea wondered if it was just stress that gave her the strange vivid dream. It didn't really matter. She wasn't going crazy at least. If she had been going crazy she wouldn't have realized how silly any of that crap was.

Chapter 20: Planning and Debate

Dove was annoyed, which she blamed on this Ocid place; she had never been so annoyed, so often, as she had been since arriving in this place. When she had to go potty she had to be taken to some weird enclosure to go. Why would any pony want to go potty inside of an enclosure? It wasn't sanitary, and her mother had always told her that she needed to worry about being sanitary when going potty. But if you went potty in a metal enclosure it would just sit there, on the ground in it, making the entire place stink. Not to mention some other pony could step in it if they went in there. Going in a river was much better. The whole thing was a bad idea, and it looked like some pony had taken a potty in the basin of drinking water, which was completely disgusting.

At least after she has gone potty she had finally gotten to rub that itch. It had felt so good, she didn't think anything she had ever felt had ever felt so good. She hadn't wanted to stop, but her hoof and area down there had gotten really messy with some weird stuff, and it kind of freaked her out. Of course the horrible estrus had to go and do something to upset her again after she found at least one thing she seemed to enjoy about it. She needed to ask either her mother or aunt about it. She wanted to right now, but she they had stressed to her that she was only supposed to talk to them where other ponies couldn't hear about this kind of stuff.

Now she sat waiting for her mother to come back out. Her aunt and Quiet were sitting with her, along with all the strange ponies who had that black coverings on them that her aunt had told her were suits.

She couldn't imagine spending her life in this place. It was just a miserable place that smelled bad. It looked horrible too; she couldn't see the sky through all the cloud above, the light all seemed weak, there were no trees, and all the ponies looked at her funny. Plus she had been told that if she had stayed here she would still be a little foal that couldn't even talk yet.

She kind of understood this was where they had to go to be safe, but this wasn't home, back through the mirror was home, and she wanted to go back.

They told her she was likely going back in an hour or two. She really didn't understand time when they tried to explain it to her. Like they tried to explain that back when her mother turned into an alicorn was like two years ago, and she could kind of understand that. But when she was told about what a day was she got all confused. A year was made up of three hundred something days. That meant days were less time than a year it from what she could tell. But they said they had all arrived in the mirror world just the previous day, so now she got confused. Was a day supposed to be longer or shorter than a year? Her mother was supposed to be back within an hour, but there were supposed to be twenty four hours in a day, and she couldn't figure out even how long a day was. She decided she hated time even more than she hated estrus.

"We're back," came her mother's subdued voice. Apparently within an hour wasn't really that long.

Her mother and Water Shadow came out of inside the big structure. Both looked sad, and that worried her.

Dove raced over to her mother to see what was wrong. When she got close her mother looked at her and looked even more sad, which worried Dove even more than before.

"Are you okay, Mama?" Dove said, not caring about the slip back into filly talk.

Her mother just looked at her and smiled. Dove could tell that was the kind of smile that was a lie. It was the kind her mother had when she hunted in front of Dove. The kind that said her mother was upset but she didn't want Dove to be upset. Normally Dove wouldn't say anything about it, that made her mother more upset, but today was a day Dove was very upset herself, and she needed her mother to not hold back part of herself.

"It's going to be okay Dove, don't worry about it right this second," her mother said kindly.

"You aren't okay, I can tell, and I'm not okay either. Tell me what's wrong. You want me to act all grown up and you treat me like I am small. This place is weird, I'm feeling weird, and you're all sad. I can understand better if you talk to me," Dove protested. She felt guilty for doing so right away, but she was too upset to let that faze her.

"You have to tell her Midnight. You're going to scare and confuse her more if you wait till the last minute to do so," Water Shadow said.

Her mother looked at Water Shadow like the bigger alicorn had just slapped her with a wing. Then her mother looked at her with a look that made Dove extremely scared.

"Dove, I'm going to do whatever it takes to keep you safe. I love you more than anything in the world, and the day you were born was the happiest day of my life. Unfortunately keeping you safe might involve me having to be away from you most of the time from now on. There are going to be long periods you won't see me, or any of us for that matter, except for Quiet..if Sweet Pea even allows for Quiet to be with you. I don't know how to have that conversation any more than this one," her mother said. It sounded like she was trying not to cry.

"What's this about Quiet?" Came the voice of her aunt from behind her. Dove turned to look at her aunt coming up to them looking very concerned.

Her mother looked between Dove and Sweet Pea like she didn't know what to do. Then her mother looked at Water Shadow like she was looking for help, but the bigger alicorn just gestured for her mother to continue. With a sigh her mother turned and looked down at her hooves.

"Dove, I'm going to get you back into the mirror as soon as it lights up. The rest of us are going to stay out here to guard it so no pony tries to destroy it. After you go in a lot of bad things might start happening on this side, and if we aren't here a lot of ponies might get killed, and the mirror destroyed without us being able to get to you. If Sweet Pea agrees we will likely put Quiet with you as well, but you two will be on your own over there for a long time, and be responsible for getting back here when it is time again. The rest of us will try to visit you on and off, but you might not see any of us for years at a time," her mother said, breaking out in a sob at the end.

Dove wasn't sure what to say. She still didn't understand the concept of years well, but she understood they were supposed to be a very long time. She could take care of herself back home, finding food was not hard over there. The thought of not seeing any pony at all felt like she was being punished for something. She didn't even know for sure if Quiet would be there by what her mother said.

"I prefer Quiet to grow up there, but why would we not be there? You're asking me to miss the entirety of my son's remaining colthood and first years of his stallionhood; I want to know why," Sweet Pea said in a tight voice.

"Ocid is likely going to be under direct threat as long as Dove lives. We have to defend both Ocid and the mirror. Water Shadow can go a long way towards defending Ocid, but not while trying to watch the mirror too. It falls to you and me to try to defend the mirror here. We can take turns visiting inside, but we have to defend it. We need you here because you're likely better at defending it than me right now," her mother said, still looking down at her hooves.

Sweet Pea just stared at Dove's mother for a long time, not saying anything. After a long few moments her aunt turned and gave a long look at Quiet, before turning back to Dove's mother again.

"You take the first trip into the mirror with them. Take two years to get yourself more into fighting shape. We can trade off every hour here after that. If my services with any new foals are needed at any point I take the time for a few months to make sure things are taken care of if it isn't my turn," Sweet Pea finally said, looking unhappy.

Dove's mother looked stricken at what Sweet Pea had said, shouldn't she be happier that she was getting extra time with her up front? Worse they were discussing doing this without giving her or Quiet a say in it, which was completely unfair. She wanted to go home, but without her mother felt horrible.

"Foals..I hadn't even thought of that happening. They will be in their twenties by the end of this first stay, enough years will pass that something will likely happen. You're right though, they'll need you for that, I can agree with that arrangement," her mother said. It was Dove's turn to have her eyes go wide. She had gotten enough explanation about what estrus was about to put those pieces together.

She glanced at Quiet, because she knew he was the only male it could be. It just occurred to her that they had just said that the two of them were not allowed to be alone together anymore when she was on estrus, but now they were making them be alone together for a long time. Well, either her mother or aunt would be around she guessed, she was still trying to figure out how that worked, but it was close enough to being alone. They were saying years, but she still couldn't figure out the whole time thing to tell what that even meant. Just thinking about it made the itch worse again too, and now that she knew why she felt kind of sick.

This whole thing was just the worst.

Sweet Pea walked over to her son and embraced him. Very soon she would be separated from him for two hours, but those two hours were going to be much longer for him, and he would be different when she saw him again. If she was going to spend more than half her time outside the World of Eternal Day and him most of it the then he would eventually pass her in age. At the end of the sixth day he would pass her by her calculations even if she gained six years herself every day. How was she even supposed to process that kind of thing? Bloody Tartarus, she could be seeing great grandfoals within a week's time. She loved foals, but she wasn't ready to have multiple generations spawn from her in a week.

She needed to spend her time with him in that world wisely, pushing him towards ascending. If he didn't she would be losing him to old age in the seeming blink of an eye. There would be more than enough foals for her to tap into her cutie mark for the same to happen to her. This would be extremely rough for her, and even worse for him, but it was something that could be endured.

"I know you all thought you had more time for me to be asleep, but my nap ended up being short," came the dreaded voice of the Ponymother.

Sweet Pea immediately threw up a shield over herself and the foals. She knew that with Peridot up Dove was about to get attacked. Doing a blind teleport within Ocid was too risky though, there were simply too many things she could teleport into here. They were going to have to fight their way to the mirror.

Midnight and Shadow were both in defensive positions, but none of them did any attack yet. Water Shadow had made it exceedingly clear that they weren't to start throwing magic blasts until they were actually attacked; their party would not be the aggressors in this.

Peridot gave them all a bemused smile as she looked them over. After a long moment of silence she broke out laughing, to the confusion of every pony, including the guards.

"I'm sorry for laughing, I don't know what has come over me. I just had a very emotional experience and for some reason walking out here to see you all ready to defend yourselves against me seems the funniest thing for some reason. I honestly can't give you a sensible answer about why I'm laughing. Maybe I'm just finally going mad," Peridot said with a surprising amount of cheer in her voice.

"I fear for Ocid if your sanity has finally slipped, perhaps I should seize leadership from you right now, for the good of every pony," Water Shadow said with a dread tone to her voice. All the guards were now aiming weapons at them, though they were casting uncertain glances at the Ponymother. Sweet Pea couldn't help be baffled by Peridot's behavior as well. Perhaps the old mare really had finally cracked.

"You're likely right," Peridot said as she cleared tears from her eyes and stopped laughing. "There will be no need for violence though. Water Shadow, by my authority as leader of Ocid I hereby appoint you leader instead. I surrender all commands to you, and the fate of Ocid to you. Computer, please acknowledge transfer of the ability to use all commands that are normal reserved to me to Water Shadow."

"Command accepted, control of Ocid's systems transferred to alicorn two, designated Water Shadow. Ocid Survives," the computer's voice intoned.

"Ocid survives," Peridot said with a relieved smile, a smile like she had just let go of a very heavy burden.

They all just stared in shock at her. Every single eye was on Peridot and every mouth was agape. This was so out of nowhere and completely unexpected. She must have gone mad.

"Not that I'm going to refuse, but what in fucking bloody Tartarus is going on?" Water Shadow exclaimed as she stared at the Ponymother.

"Well, I just gave you full command of Ocid to start with," Peridot said happily. "As for why, it's because I don't want the job anymore and you'll do better. If what Biblo tells me is true I'm possibly a long term danger to Ocid as well. I don't know if I can trust her, I'll leave that decision to you, but she told me many things."

"Like what?" Sweet Pea hissed. She had every right to be suspicious of anything this mare said or did.

"Well, for starters she and Sunset both will be arriving at one of our gates soon," Peridot said with a smile. Sweet Pea's body went stiff and a cold chill passed down her spine. This was too close to what that dream had said.

"Sunset is alive? Why if she is alive would she be traveling with Mera?" Water Shadow said with suspicion.

"Some shared goals was what I was told. I was just told to tell you about it, and that Sunset would explain when they arrived. I was also told to keep Dove safe at all costs, so I won't be trying to do anything to her. Not that I could, now that I've surrendered control of Ocid to you. Consider that proof that I at least am being honest," Peridot explained as she looked the other ancient in the eye. Sweet Pea was trying to control her breathing, but panic was rising. This was all that dream had been saying.

"You're lying! It can't be true! It's all some sort of trick!" Sweet Pea screamed at the the crystal pony.

Sweet Pea's outburst caught every pony off guard. Now every eye was on her, and she felt them questioning whether she was well herself. It didn't matter, she knew this all had to be a lie. It made no sense at all, and they all had to see that. All they had been through had happened for a reason, and no pony was going to tell her now that they had gone through it for nothing. Further, every pony had to realize that the necromancer was no friend of any pony.

"Sweet Pea, we all appreciate and share your concerns, but please try to contain yourself. You seem to be far more bothered than the rest of us and as soon as we have finished this conversation with Peridot you and I are going to have a talk and you are going to tell me what the cause of that is," Water Shadow said evenly. Sweet Pea nodded back as she tried to pull herself back together. She would tell Water Shadow about the dream after this, and Water Shadow would know what to do.

"Now," Water Shadow said as she turned her attention back to Peridot. "Sweet Pea's outburst did voice concerns we all have. You've had a very sudden change of in behavior and are saying you are letting Mera walk right up to our front gates. That's any number of red flags that something isn't right. Why is Mera supposedly interested in protecting Dove now? And why are you letting her walk right up to the front gates? Are you so much in league with your sister now that you would let her into Ocid?"

"If Biblo wanted into Ocid she could have done so at any point by now and you know it. She's far too powerful for us to do anything to stop. The very idea that we were doing anything to effectively defend against her was always laughable, but we told ourselves lies to make ourselves feel safe. As for why she has changed her tone; Biblo has a new contract, one that I don't think I should tell you about with Dove listening," Peridot said, and her ears drooped as she glanced at Dove.

"If it concerns Dove it would not be right to hide it from her. Tell us what it is Peridot," Water Shadow said evenly. Sweet Pea listened closely as she waited to hear what possible reason there could be for all this.

"As you wish. Biblo's contract, if she's being honest with me, is now simply to kill Dove. She has to be the one to do it, and she has to be in a particular place when she does it. If Dove dies in any other way before that point then Biblo's bell will be claimed by Grogar, and he will promptly order her to destroy us all instead of doing any more delay. Biblo is actually terrified that Grogar is already plotting a way of killing Dove before she can. She's desperate to keep Dove safe till she can kill her under the appropriate conditions. She is willing to negotiate any terms to do so," Peridot gave her explanation with a slight quiver in her voice. The filly in question gasped and went and hid behind her mother, which was not very well done with her size.

"So all her power depends on Dove.." Sweet Pea whispered as she gazed at the filly. It wasn't exactly as the dream had said, but the necromancer was likely lying too. What did that mean though?

"I won't let that monster have my daughter," Midnight snarled. The alicorn's horn sparked and popped as she stood glaring at Peridot.

"To be honest it isn't your call, little alicorn. If we can keep her alive till she reaches old age I assume it would be for it to be Dove's call on whether she will sacrifice herself. I'm not entirely confident we can even trust my sister; which is why I am no longer in the decision making process. Water Shadow is in charge now and will decide what to do. I'll do as I am told," Peridot said as she looked Midnight in the eye.

They all turned to Water Shadow to see what the new ruler of Ocid had to say. The alicorn glanced at them all before letting her eyes settle on Dove for a long period. Sweet Pea wondered what was going on in the old alicorn's mind.

"Shadow, I really need to talk to you before you make any decisions," Sweet Pea finally spoke up again.

Every pony looked at Sweet Pea and she felt a little small in that moment. She had three immortal ponies, a filly that had her life and death being discussed, and her own son's eyes all on her judging her. Yes, she was a powerful unicorn with big plans for Ocid herself, but aside from her son and the guards she was the least significant pony in the room.

"For now I'm going to go with the plans I already had. We're going to find out what the threats we face are, we're going to have Dove and Quiet Word go through the mirror for now, and nothing has changed about those two things regardless of whether Mera is telling a truth or a lie. When Sunset arrives I'll speak with her, after Sunset submits to Peridot's touch to assure that she is not being forcibly influenced in some way. Sweet Pea, you and I are going to have a talk about whatever has you particularly rattled, because having a unicorn of your power and ability behaving as you are now makes me uneasy. Midnight, you're going to take command of finding out about what is the threat that's already in Ocid is, you'll do this because otherwise you may find something within Ocid already may be a more pressing threat to Dove and all of Ocid than Mera is right now. When I have a clear view of what the seas we are sailing look like I will make further decisions," Water Shadow said at length, giving them each their duties.

"I was going to spend the first two hours in the mirror. Not only to get time with my daughter, but to develop my magic," Midnight said.

"Well, I'm in need of your knowledge of Ocid and your ability to give an order as an alicorn right now, not your magical prowess. I'm severely short staffed of capable ponies with the loss of all the acolytes. We don't yet know what is going on with Sunset either. No offense intended to Peridot, but I don't know how much I can trust her yet. Sweet Pea will take the first shift with them in order to get them settled, and both of you will have to accept that you may have to both leave them unattended for periods. I will spare you both a few minutes at a time on and off to visit, but priorities are here," Water Shadow said with sympathy.

"I take no offense, I would have issues trusting me in your position," Peridot said.

Sweet Pea couldn't put into words what she felt. She looked at her best friend and decided she must feel about the same as her. What was more devastating was that she now was starting to have her own doubts about whether Dove should live, and that went against everything she believed in and was not only a betrayal of herself, but also a betrayal of those closest to her. She desperately needed to talk to Water Shadow.

"As you say Shadow," Midnight finally said in a low voice.

"Now that is settled I want you two to get the mirror someplace defensible and get those foals in. Sweet Pea, only take as much time as you need to get them settled and no more, then come to me. I would recommend getting them a timer of some sort so they know when they must return should no pony be available to come get them out in time. I will be in the command center in Crystal Heart. Midnight, I expect you to come straight to me when you're done saying your goodbyes," Water Shadow commanded.

"Yes Shadow," Midnight said again in a low voice and with a bow of her head. Sweet Pea simply mimicked her nod.

Sunset watched with hesitation as Mera approached her through the ruins. Despite everything she had a hard time trusting the crystal pony not to immediately betray her and try to finish her off. Mera made no attempt her hide her approach. The necromancer could have likely appeared right next to Sunset with the vast amount of power she possessed. This was clearly meant to put Sunset more at ease. Sunset wasn't certain how much it was working.

"You didn't run away I see. I didn't expect you to, but I hadn't ruled out you might. Thank you for letting me come to you," Mera said as she came up to the rubble Sunset was perched on.

"If you intended on killing me you have had plenty of opportunity without taking it already," Sunset said.

"Yet you're still afraid. I suppose that is to be expected," Mera said, not seeming ashamed or embarrassed that Sunset should feel that way. "We need to be about our business quickly. When I woke up I found I no longer had control of the undead. Something has taken control of them from me, and it is easy to guess what is coming next."

Sunset stared at her one time friend and long time nemesis and wondered if it was the truth. Whether truth or fiction it did not bode well for Ocid. Either Mera was lying and planning on bringing the entire horde down on Ocid, or Mera was telling the truth and something else intended to do exactly that. She and Water Shadow were likely strong enough to fight it back now, but not without serious losses of life.

"I didn't think it possible for you to lose control of it. It is tied directly to your magic isn't it?" Sunset asked with continued suspicion.

"If Grogar chose he could power something to give far more control than I. Not another acolyte, it would have to be one of my bloodborn as they are already tied to controlling undead. There are reasons I never created more of the things, and it seems my reason is justified. I made three of them most recently. If I were Grogar I would give them all the power and spread them out. I have to actually find and destroy them in order to regain control, and spreading them out so that is more difficult would be the best tactic against me,," Mera said with a grimace.

"Well, then let's hurry. I need that knowledge quickly and need to be on my way. I'm fairly certain both I and Water Shadow can fight back your creations, and the sooner I'm back in Ocid the better," Sunset said, not willing to waste any more time. The sooner she could meet up with Water Shadow the higher likelihood they could contain the damage.

"Definitely. I'll put that knowledge at the front of my thoughts, and will let my mental guards down so you can take it directly from me. Feel free to search out my mind to know I'm telling the truth while you're at it, but be quick about it. We need to get to Ocid quickly. Peridot has likely surrendered control of Ocid to Water Shadow and they're expecting our arrival soon," Mera said as she gazed off to the north east.

"We?" Sunset questioned. The bit about Peridot surrendering control of Ocid to Water Shadow was a surprise, but something she could find out the details of later.

"I have three upstart creations that need destroying. At least one or two of them will come near Ocid to confront you directly, and if they're going for my position they might make a try for Dove personally. They will be near Ocid, so I need to be as well. I will only be in the vicinity outside, I won't try to enter Ocid myself. I would have preferred to head straight home to go do some housecleaning before Dove's arrival, but this takes priority," Mera said as she started snarling in the same direction she had been gazing.

Sunset could see the reasoning if Mera was telling the truth. She was not comfortable with Mera being close by Ocid though. In the end she had little way of stopping Mera from going.

"Alright, let's get this over with," Sunset said as she rose and glided down to Mera.

She placed a hooves on Mera's shoulder. Mera sat still just watching her. What Sunset felt was surprisingly extreme fear within the necromancer. Mera might be still putting on a show of strength, but she was clearly terrified from what Sunset was feeling. It was hard to sense much else because the level of fear was so high. How did Mera even function with this much terror going on right now?

One thing was certain; with as much fear as Mera was feeling and where it was directed it was almost certain she was telling the truth about the stakes they all faced. The other thing that was certain was Mera would almost certainly betray their agreement about letting Dove live a full life if it came down to where she felt she had a good opportunity.

"What all do you think needs to be done before you feel safe bringing Dove to your Sanctuary Tomb?" Sunset asked as she continued to try to push through Mera's emotions to the knowledge she was looking for.

"First I need to deal with the threats to her at Ocid. We now know Grogar has turned my bloodborn against me and they're going to be laying siege to the nation. That will be first priority. The next is that even though Peridot didn't say anything I picked up a sense that not all is well within Ocid's walls either. That will be for you to figure out, as well as to thwart any within Ocid that are being tempted by Grogar. Third, I expect other acolytes to try to take this opportunity to slay Dove, get me out of the way, and gain favor. I need to figure out who and how those strikes will come. Fourth, I need to deal with Pinkie Pie again. I highly suspect that she is going to try to strike at Dove as soon as Dove enters the Sanctuary Tomb. I'm not sure how to deal with Pinkie yet, but she needs to be dealt with before I dare try taking Dove there," Mera explained.

"It seems we have our hooves full of problems then. It makes me almost regret not just giving her over to you at the start and saving us all this. I said I would never do such a thing again after what I made Pearl do, we can see how well that went for us all. I guess that least there is no good reason for you to betray us and try to seize Dove early. There are far too many things that could go wrong with that," Sunset said in a level voice. She found what she was looking for in Mera's mind and started trying to learn it.

"There is every reason for me to, but as you observed it is just too risky a thing for me to do. I won't lie about the fact that if it comes to it I'll risk trying to take her to the tomb if I feel the situation is desperate enough, but I'm going to do everything I can to minimize risk until then. You have to understand what is at stake here as well. You were the alicorn that once threatened me with death if you thought I was a threat to the well being of ponies, and the one who ordered me put to death rather than having Pearl try to pull me back from madness. Dove is a far greater threat than what I could have presented at the time you made those choices. If she refuses to come with me when the time comes, or the situation gets too dire, you need to stand aside and let me do what needs to be done. She can have her time in the mirror, but at some point sacrifices for the greater good must be made," Mera said with conviction.

"You aren't concerned with the greater good. You're concerned with the same thing you have always been. Pearl may have been a good pony worthy of your love, but your obsession is a perversion of that love that was not only harmful for every other pony, but harmful to her as well. It was back then and it is even more so now," Sunset replied in a still level tone.

Mera pulled back from Sunset's touch and glared hatefully at her. The crystal pony shook with rage, and seemed to be visibly restraining herself from lashing out. After a tense moment Mera licked her lips and spoke.

"If you have the information you need then I advise we put this conversation on hold. I'm trying very hard to restrain myself and you're making it harder for me to do so. You push your luck far too much, alicorn. It might be harder for me to accomplish what I need to do without you, but if it comes to it I can find a way to still accomplish what must be done without you," Mera growled, causing Sunset to take a few cautious steps backwards.

Sunset took a breath and steeled her nerves, well aware she might be sealing her own doom by what she was about to say.

"You might be a creature beyond redemption," Sunset began. "You want to think that you will suddenly become a good pony once you complete your contract, and that everything will be better once Pearl lives again. You need to take a good long look at yourself and question if that is true. There was darkness in you before you signed that contract, and even after the corruption leaves you it will still be there. If Pearl comes to life again you need to make sure you don't end up hurting her again. She will be horrified at the lengths of what you have done because of her, and you need to learn to be horrified by them as well; not because it invokes horror in her, but because you need to recognize your obsession hurts her in more ways than everything you hope to protect her from."

Mera sat staring at Sunset for a long moment, not making any immediate signs of aggression. Sunset knew that meant little; Mera could go from sitting still to killing her in a blink of an eye. The fact she hadn't done so already was a good sign, but it was still a something that could yet happen.

"You're right. That is something that needs to be addressed. In the worst case scenario I may just go back to my original plan of ending myself soon after Pearl's resurrection. It doesn't matter right now though. If you have what you need then we need to be about our business or none of this will matter. Do you or don't you have the knowledge you need from me?" Mera asked with no fluctuation in tone, still gazing fixedly at Sunset.

"Yes, I do," Sunset answered matter-of-factly, not releasing her eyes from Mera's.

"Good, then let's be on our business without any further discussion of things that aren't pertinent for the moment. I have no intention of being undone by Grogar because I spent time listening to your preaching." Without waiting for reply Mera launched herself into flight to towards Ocid again without the aid of any sort of wings. The necromancer didn't even look back to see if Sunset would follow right away.

Sunset wavered just a moment before following suit.

Chapter 21: Rising Tide

Water Shadow sat considering the green unicorn mare wondering how to deal with the troubling knowledge she had just gained. The one great positive was that Sweet Pea had been open and honest with her, and that might help circumvent any corruption that had already been at work. There was no telling how many others had been touched as Sweet Pea had, and that was car more troubling.

"Are you sure that there are no other details that you're leaving out? Please, tell me if there are, a small detail missed could cause a lot of problems further out to sea," Water Shadow questioned her friend.

"I told you everything I can remember. It was very vivid and I'm sure that I'm not leaving anything out," Sweet Pea insisted.

Water Shadow sighed with relief. Grogar's touch was not yet much in this one. It had likely been his first attempts at influencing Sweet Pea, and the fact that it was being caught early boded well for them.

"Thank you for being so honest with me. Now let me be honest with you as well. That dream was sent by Grogar or one of his close minions for the purpose of trying to gain influence on you. You'll notice that nothing that was said was a lie from what we can tell. That's what makes it so insidious and gives them the power to try to keep influencing you. They're telling you the truth, but only parts of it. They do this to lead you into doing what they want, to the point of embracing completely what they say even of who is trying to influence you is later revealed. You perceive them as not having led you astray for so long that you become willing to trust them completely even when it is clear you're dealing with dark powers. It is not an overnight process, but over time they would hope to make you one of their agents, loyal only to them," Water Shadow explained.

"I'd never do such a thing!" Sweet Pea protested, stomping one of her forehooves.

"You say that now, and as you stand now you wouldn't. However, with repeated such dreams, and time, any unsuspecting pony could be turned to agent of the Elder Gods. It's folly to try to believe you are beyond such things, but recognizing you're susceptible makes you better on guard. The good thing is that you're aware now of what they intend to try with you, and that makes you able to resist it. I am very glad you chose to come to me while this was at its infancy so it can be put a halt to before it really did start having an effect on you," Water Shadow said with an encouraging smile.

"So, I should ignore what the dream said?" Sweet Pea asked.

"Don't ignore it, as I won't either. We do need to fill in the information that was withheld from you initially so you would focus on the wrong things when things started playing out. This gives further confirmation that Mera was in fact telling the truth to Peridot. We can guess then that Grogar is going to be making efforts to see that Dove dies soon, and he'll be attempting from multiple fronts. You're almost certainly not the only pony he is going to try to beguile into thinking it better she just die," Water Shadow answered thoughtfully. She then turned to the other ponies present to see if they had any input.

Peridot and Midnight glanced at one another uncertainty before turning back to Water Shadow. Peridot rubbed a hoof against the back of her head before she spoke.

"Biblo seemed to think Grogar would make an attempt on me. She also let drop that she has started believing that Dove herself has no actual value beyond being the game piece Grogar is playing around. I'm not sure if I believe that line of thought, but it would fit what we know of him. I spent a great deal of time reading up on him and the only thing that I can pin down about his personality is he's a bit of nihilist. Choosing to center all his plans around some pony that matters no more than any other pony definitely would be a plan that came from a nihilist." Peridot divided glances between both Water Shadow and Midnight.

"Are you saying that there's no good reason that my filly should be in danger other than he pointed and picked a pony at random?" Midnight demanded in a near shout.

"I'm saying that's what Biblo believes. I said I'm not so sure. If she's right then it still likely wasn't completely at random. Your daughter had the misfortune of being born a pegasus which makes us want to believe she is important. She isn't the only foal ever to be born with a cutie mark. It's exceedingly rare, but it does happen. I personally think that two exceptionally rare events happening in conjunction indicates something of significance, but I could be wrong. The bottom line is that whether she would have been of great significance on her own or just some random accident of birth is meaningless now. Grogar has chosen to play his game around her and that makes her survival until she can die under the appropriate circumstances our top priority," Peridot said as she looked Midnight in the eyes with a steady gaze.

"We are not considering sacrificing my daughter to that monster," Midnight growled.

"We need to do what is best for all ponies. Give your daughter another day or two in that mirror with the knowledge of what happens if she doesn't die the right way and see what she thinks. I wouldn't ask a foal to go sacrifice itself, but in one more day within the mirror she won't be a foal anymore now will she? I'm sure with time to consider she as a full grown mare might have a different opinion than her protective mother," Peridot said, still not breaking her gaze from the glaring grey alicorn.

Water Shadow cleared her throat to get the two immortals' attention before Midnight could launch into another series of objections.

"This doesn't matter at the moment. I personally have to admit that Dove being turned over to Mera seems the only final solution, but I prefer that be done on Dove's terms once she's mature enough to actually make such a decision. If need be I'll keep Dove alive in a vegetative state once she has reached an age she would naturally die so she can be taken to Mera and officially die in the required way even if she was as good as dead for some time before that.

"We have a choice between extinction and doing what is needed for Mera. I'm not happy about either option, and if I could think of any third option I would fly its colors. Mera has given Dove a opportunity at a long full life which is the most we can hope for Dove, and the least abominable thing that can happen. I've my concerns about what may come next after she completes that contract, as nothing is ever as it seems with such things, but I'm confident that the terms of such contracts must be upheld by their makers. That much about the Elder Gods I do understand and Mera seems to believe the same thing. She wouldn't jeopardize her chance at resurrecting Pearl on a contract she thought wouldn't be upheld," Water Shadow concluded.

"Ascension for Dove is a third option," Midnight insisted.

"No, it's not. That is another delaying tactic at best. We have everything out to kill her, and even as an alicorn she would eventually be killed. If she ascends we are still faced with the fact that if Hydia, Lavan, or some random lucky minion of Grogar kills her all of Ponykind is dead. Even if we did the impossible and made her unkillable that again dooms every pony as that could be seen as failure of Mera's contract and Grogar would seize her bell and kill every other pony. That she's going to die eventually is pretty much an inevitability, we can only do our best to direct how," Water Shadow said as patiently as she could.

"I think you have might have other things you need to be concerned about as well, little alicorn," Peridot said cryptically.

"And those are?" Midnight responded. Water Shadow raised her own eyebrows in curiosity. What was Peridot going on about?

"If Grogar's goal is to make sure Mera fails then it would definitely make sense that the ponies he would try to tempt over to serving him would be you and Dove. It isn't Sweet Pea that we need to worry about selling her soul, it's you," Peridot said with a hard glare at the young alicorn.

Midnight let out a low growl before striking Peridot hard across the muzzle with a wing in an uncharacteristic show of violence for her against another pony. The blow was impressive, as it sent the mighty crystal pony staggering back, before Peridot finally fell to the floor. She wasn't unconscious, but she was definitely dazed by the force of the blow. Any lesser pony may very well have been killed by the force of the blow. Midnight likely didn't realize how hard she was striking the crystal pony. Alicorns were much stronger than normal ponies.

"Midnight! I realize that Peridot could use a lesson in tact, but that's completely unacceptable. If you had hit any other pony than her with that blow you would have separated their head from their body. You can not lose your temper in such a manner. Do I make myself clear?" Water Shadow scolded.

Midnight scowled at her. The young alicorn becoming increasingly combative was a serious issue. She understood the stresses the mother was under, but this definitely could escalate to where Peridot's claims they should fear Midnight were well founded. Midnight might be just an angry mother, but Mera had been just an angry wife. Midnight's obsession was something to be empathized with, but it was dangerous.

"Urgh, I don't think I've been hit that hard since Biblo used to beat the shit out of me in training duels. I'm impressed, we should duel sometime, you might make an impressive fighter," Peridot said with a laugh as she shook her head to clear it. Of course the oaf would get a thrill out of getting knocked silly. What should Water Shadow really expect out of a brawler like Peridot. She should just be happy the Ponymother wasn't jumping in to return the blow. At least Peridot was taking it in stride rather than escalating things. It was a something to be thankful for that she really had been on her best behavior today. Perhaps it was the combination of having the heavy burden of rule lifted from her and her finding out her sister not only lived, but was trying to make herself a better pony; questionable as that last part may be.

"Midnight," she sighed as she looked at the younger alicorn. "I'm not accusing you of anything, but I'm forced once again to say Peridot may have a point. Grogar will no doubt try to play on your protective nature. You might not think I need to say this, but I am anyway; do not listen to what he says or take any deals from him. He will make you into a monster, and do you want to have to face your daughter as a monster she might fear and detest? All it'll earn you is her hatred and resentment."

"If she lives maybe I would accept that," Midnight said in a low voice. That was any number of red flags and alarms.

Thankfully, Peridot still had no tact.

"And maybe she will kill herself just to spite you. You get to be twice the monster then. A pony that betrayed us all, and a pony that drove her own daughter to take her own life," Peridot sneered.

It looked for a moment as if Midnight was going to do far more than simply strike Peridot. The grey alicorn glared daggers at the green crystal pony. Her muscles were tense, like she was about to pounce, and her mouth was open in a way that would have put her fangs on display if she were still a thestral. It last a tense moment before Midnight's posture slumped, and Water Shadow let out a sigh of relief.

"I won't do anything that will lead my daughter to take such an action against me. I want her safe, and I won't become yet another monster she has to worry about. I just don't know what to do," Midnight said in a woeful tone. "She means everything to me, yet I have to sit here and plot out how she's going to die? Do you have any idea how horrible that is? I want nothing else to do with this discussion, or any further discussion on the subject. Give me orders, don't give me details, and promise me that you'll give her every moment of life you can give her. Beyond that I just don't want to know what is planned. I can't take knowing."

Peridot sat for a long moment staring at the alicorn, and Water Shadow wondered if the Ponymother was going to say something tactless yet again. Instead the behemoth crystal pony walked over to her descendant and pulled her into a hug. Midnight looked shocked, but after a moment returned the hug; laying her head against her grandmare and wept.

"There there." Peridot brushed Midnight's mane with one hoof, a strangely motherly gesture by the Ponymother. "I understand how you feel better than just about any pony living. Without getting into how many of my own foals and grandfoals I have had to commit to death, I've been forced with impossible choices like this one. When my sister tore down the Tree of Harmony Sunset sent Pearlwort to go deal with her. Pearl had that same impossible thing asked of her, to decide the means of death for the one pony that mattered most to her.

"That is the well enough known part of the tale, but what is left out by many is the fact I was the back up plan. If Pearl failed Sunset expected me to walk in there and kill my own sister. You have to understand, I had just lost my parents just a few years before that, and I adored my sister. For a long time before that I thought Pearl was dead too, so Biblo was all of my family at the time; and Sunset expected me to kill her for the good of all."

"I never knew about that part," Midnight said quietly as Peridot still held her.

"Do you know I'm actually jealous of you and Dove because of that? When we were again in a position that all life depended on killing one pony what did Sunset do? She ran off and protected that filly and her mother. Here I was having learned from her directly that I had to make such sacrifices and she ups and just abandons them all for that little filly. Do you know how much resentment I felt for that? Your little filly was worth sacrificing all of our lives over, but my sister wasn't worth giving a chance when the stakes with her weren't as high? It was beyond unfair, it still feels unfair, despite how it worked out. I don't know how I'm going to face Sunset when she returns without wanting to try knocking her head off like you tried with me." Peridot kept petting Midnight like her own foal, and to some extent that was true.

"So, in short, I get you, my granddaughter. It isn't fair, and it isn't right, but it isn't something we should ever be put in a position to have to be discussing when it comes to the ones we love most. I respect your choice not to be involved with any discussion of it." Peridot bent her head down and kissed Midnight on the forehead.

This wasn't the way Water Shadow expected these two to make some peace between them, but she would take it.

Dove was both relieved and horrified by what was about to come.

On the one hoof, she was about to get what she wanted; to just go home. She hated this Ocid place, and longed for the blue skies and green grass of her home. A place that wasn't full of ponies staring at her, judging her, and making her feel uncomfortable. Going back home couldn't come soon enough.

But going home was bittersweet. It was going to be just her and Quiet by themselves floor most of the time now. Her mom and aunt promised they would make time to come see them on and off, but it was going to be only for short visits. She didn't mind Quiet's company, but he was.. well, quiet. It was going to be really boring with just him around. Home wasn't home without her mother, aunt, Sunset, and Shadow. For the first time she questioned if she really wanted to go home if it meant she wasn't going to have them with her.

"Hold still, I'm going to covert that saddle bag I just gave you into a life pack," Water Shadow commanded.

Dove did as instructed. Water Shadow cast a spell and she felt a quick tingling sensation.

"Alright, one life pack made. Now to do Quiet's," the blue alicorn said before turning and walking over to Quiet. Dove still had no idea what a life pack was, but some pony would likely explain it to her. She didn't really care at the moment anyway.

"Dove, this's a computerized teaching tablet," her mother said as she brought some strange flat object over to her. "I realized that we might have not done a great job educating you about a lot of things. The power drain on this thing is extremely efficient and it would take nearly fifteen years under normal circumstances for it to need to be recharged. That's good enough for a full day over on the other side of the mirror. I'm going to program some reminders into that watch that Peridot gave you so know when you're supposed to be learning from this thing. It even teaches you how to use it itself. You can use it when it isn't scheduled as well if you get bored. I actually recommend you do just that."

The watch that her mother described was a weird thing Peridot strapped on her foreleg. It had strange little lights in odd patterns that she had explained to her were timers. The thing could even talk if she asked it a question about what the timers said, or if a timer was getting close to the time for something. It supposedly didn't come off but would adjust itself as she got bigger. Her mother had been initially annoyed with Peridot about them wearing them, but had decided it was a good idea. Maybe this thing would finally help her understand time.

All of the adults were fussing over making preparations for them. Giving them things and instructions. Saying they were going to program instructions into the watch for this and that. There was a frantic pace to it all and she could barely keep up with what was being said and done. They said it was alright if she didn't remember it all right now, the watch would remember for her. It sounded like the watch was going to be her foalsitter.

"Are you okay, my little giggle butt?" her mother asked her with a look off concern. Dove's mother didn't often ask her stupid questions, but that qualified as one. Of course she wasn't okay right now. She was trying not to cry, and she and Quiet were getting abandoned by themselves. What part of that was she supposed to be okay about?

"I'll be alright," she said in a low voice. She couldn't get her ears to perk up, so she wasn't really doing a good job at lying. She knew she wasn't supposed to lie, but she couldn't find the words to express what she was feeling, not without yelling at some pony again anyway.

Her mother looked at her like she wanted to say something, but wasn't sure what. Instead, her mother wrapped a wing around Dove and pulled her close into a tight hug. Dove wrapped her own wings around her mother and gripped tightly, eager to feel her mother's warmth. She wouldn't get this very often going forward. Her mother just wasn't going to be there.

"It isn't going to seem like you're gone for me as long as it seems to you, but it's going to still feel like an eternity. I'm sorry I'm going to miss so much. I love you more than anything; I want you to always remember that. I know you don't fully understand everything that's going on now, and I'll try to find time to visit you and explain it better. I'm going to agonize over how much I've missed between each visit. If it's a long time between visits just know I'm doing my best to try to keep you safe," her mother said. Dove could tell her mother was crying.

"The mirror is about to go light," Water Shadow announced loudly. The announcement made Dove's mother grip her tighter and let out a sob. Dove heard her aunt give out a similar sob over by Quiet.

"Sweet Pea and I'll be coming through with you two, just to make sure you're settled in right, but we can't stay too long. A few days there at most; Long enough for your estrus to pass and make sure the camp is back in order. We got Water Shadow to concede that much to us. So, we have a little more time together still, before you have to fend for yourself," her mother said as she pulled back from the hug. She gave a sad smile to Dove as she said it.

"Twenty seconds!" Water Shadow announced.

"Come on, let's get in place. We don't want to waste time once the mirror lights back up," her mother instructed, as she started walking towards they silvery rippling thing. Dove trotted up beside her mother. Happy she would get at least a little more time with her.

They stood before the massive object that was still beyond Dove's understanding and waited as Water Shadow counted down.

"Seven, six, five, four, three, two, one..damn, it seems my timing is off. It should be.." Whatever Water Shadow was going to say was cut off as the mirror flared to brightly lit once again, startling the four ponies standing right before it.

"We walk through together, now," Midnight commanded, and the four of them stepped through as one.

Lavan let out a sigh of contentment as he stepped out of the ocean upon land again. It was wet sand, and it was cold, but it was better than being submerged in water. He hated being wet, he was a creature of fire, and the ocean was one of his least favorite things. When he eventually triumphed over his fellow acolytes he would be sure to make sure every last drop of the accursed ocean was boiled away to steam.

Today was a big step towards taking his rightful position though. Soon he would be the one to kill that little pony that Grogar wanted dead and in the process remove the Mate of Shadows as competition for the final reward. He was going to savor the moment when that snide overpowered watersack realized he had defeated her. The Mare always behaved like she was so much better than him, not recognizing his innate superiority, treating him with contempt. The arrogant watersack deserved what was coming to her.

He marched up the shore, and looked out into the distance in front of him. The Dome of Ocid could just barely be made out on the horizon. When Grogar had contacted him and told him that he would be required to take a brief hiatus from his siege of the dragons to attack ponies instead he had been offended. Why should he waste his time fighting such weak little creatures. Yes, they had been a major force once upon a time when Harmony stood, but now they were a dying race hanging onto a small fraction of the territory they once governed. Then Grogar said this was all in order to make the Mare of Shadows fall into disgrace, and Lavan's opinion of the entire campaign changed instantly.

The land was largely clear around of any obstructions, which meant the march for his army to the Dome of Ocid would be done quickly. It also meant there was no hiding the fact they were coming, not that it mattered much. The only things other than flat plains he saw between the coast and the dome were the husks of old buildings abandoned long ago. It was wonderful to behold so much land with no organic life to be seen. Soon he would crush the puny pony Dome and the ponies within. Grogar only wanted him to focus on killing a single pony, but why stop there? If he killed all the ponies he would definitely kill the one. Plus he suspected Grogar was intending to raise up a replacement for the Mare of Shadows from among the ponies, it was best to just make sure that wasn't a possibility.

Behind him his army started to emerge from the sea; great stone golems, magma elementals, crystalline rippers, an army completely driven by his will with no thought of their own. It was truly perfected life without weakness, without feeling, and most of all subservient to him. Someday all the world would be nothing but such creatures, all under his control.

He marched forward towards Ocid.

Nighttide sat at the computer terminal reading through the first reports coming back from Night's Heart about the camera malfunctions. It was mixed news so far. The technicians all seemed completely stumped about why the cameras had failed. That made it impossible to actually do anything to prevent it from happening again. The positive news was doing a manual reboot of the camera seemed to get it working again fine, it would be a time consuming task to do one camera at a time, but it could have been much worse. They were installing additional surge protectors on the cameras in hopes that would help, but it didn't seem to be a power problem so that most likely was a wasted effort.

The monster attack was not doing much better on news. They had managed to find some witnesses, but the witnesses were foals and their accounts weren't very useful. They said it was a pony in armor, but every single one of them seemed to describe it so differently that it was impossible to get a good sketch of what they were dealing with. What they had narrowed down was it was strong, it definitely had some armor on, it had wings, and the thing was focused on the victim that they were still cleaning off the sides of the elevator. She had eventually been identified as one of the workers from the Bakery. An order had already gone out to foal services for her replacement; some young mare or stallion was going to be having a very bad day today.

She was about ready to get her report together now as there wasn't likely to be any new news in the next few hours. She guessed she was supposed to report to Water Shadow now since the Ponymother had stepped down. It wasn't completely clear, but that seemed to be how things were supposed to go. It had been a long day eventful day but she was glad that some progress on problems at last, even if everything wasn't resolved yet. Hopefully Water Shadow would more attentive to Nighttide's reports than Peridot had been.

As she put in a few last notes on her report a warning went up on the monitor. A dark angry red sign that was the worst kind of warning. She brought up the details quickly and her jaw dropped. She immediately after that pulled up the camera feeds from the drones and she just about pissed herself at what she saw. Whatever was going on in Night's Heart was of no further consequence at the moment, there was now something much more urgent to deal with. She took off out of the room at a full gallop with her tablet with report completely forgotten.

Ocid was about to be under siege, and not just from the undead horde. The undead horde advanced from the west and the north, an army of elementals marched from the west, and an army of Klugians marched from the south. Ocid was about to be assaulted on all sides, the undead horde as it stood would have been too much, but this was beyond comprehension. Even if Sunset Shimmer returned today Ocid stood no chance. It would take a miracle to save them now.