"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.