Mint shifted in the new seat of her cockpit and glanced around at the unfamiliar interior. Everything was in the same general position, and it all certainly looked like it was just a sleek modernization of her old Adder's cockpit. But she could feel a difference, or rather, countless tiny differences. The throttle lever felt stiff, the foot pedals were angled slightly differently, and the muscle memory she had developed for the button pads carried her hoof either to empty space or to the wrong button. At least not needing a neurohelmet to interface with her 'Mech anymore made piloting it easier.

"I'm sure I'll get used to everything fairly quickly," Mint thought optimistically. "We should still have plenty of time before our next battle." She looked back out at the path she was running down; a wide dirt track carved through the jungle with enough space to fit an entire Star of assault 'Mechs walking in a line formation.

Immediately after Mint and Azure had powered up their 'Mechs, Cobalt had instructed them to head down separate paths and avoid communicating on the comms. For the two of them just having completed the trial, he had spoken very little. Azure had been worried there was another step to their trial before it was truly over, but Mint hoped otherwise.

As if to reject Mint's hopes, a gruff voice cut in on the comms as she came around a bend in the path. A small 'Mech stepped from the tree line a few hundred kilometers away; a Kit Fox, a thirty-ton light 'Mech with plenty of weapons, as well as a top speed that matched her own. It popped up as red on her IFF system, marking it as an enemy. The confusing thing was the symbol of the Ghost Bears painted on its side, as well as the insignia for the Silveroot Keshik. Why would one of them be hostile?

"MechWarrior Mint, the time for your Trial of Position has come. You will have one opponent; me. Standard Trial rules apply. Prepare for battle."

"A Trial of Position? I guess that explains it," Mint thought, trying to remember the rules as the Kit Fox raised one of its arms and pointed at her, the usual signal that designated opponents in Trials. Mint rolled her shoulders and pulled up the 'Mech's data on the targeting screen. "Prime config; a mix of weapons effective at all ranges. That's kind of a scary loadout." She flipped the weapons lock switch off and smirked slightly, glancing at her own loadout of twin ER PPCs, as well as the flamer she wasn't sure she'd ever needed to use before. "Not scary enough, though. What were they thinking, putting a tiny thing like that up against an Adder prime? This battle will be over in a second."

The fight was even more anticlimactic than Mint had expected. While the enemy pilot had surprised her by firing first with his large laser and autocannon, very nearly destroying one of her 'Mech's arms in the process, she quickly responded with staggered shots from her own weapons. One PPC shot blasted a hole the size of a beach ball in the Kit Fox's left torso, destroying the left shoulder and removing the attached arm in the process. This was followed by a second shot a few seconds later that tore through the 'Mech's right arm at the elbow, disabling all of its weapons and rendering it defenseless.

"Hmm. They should have put me up against a medium." Mint glanced at the heat gauge, which was at eighty-five percent, and noted how the cockpit was already sweltering after firing only two times. "Or maybe not. Still, an opponent with more than four tons of armor would have made sense."

Both 'Mechs came to a halt about a hundred meters apart, facing each other and waiting for something to happen. The Kit Fox couldn't even use melee attacks with its arms destroyed, and it couldn't ram into Mint either since they had the same top speed. All Mint had to do to finish the Trial was wait for her 'Mech to vent heat and put a shot or two through the center torso.

"Wait. But that might kill him," Mint thought with worry. "'Mechs don't usually fight an opponent that can take them out in one shot in Trials, so what happens here? Do I just shoot and hope the automatic ejection system gets him out of there in time?" She glanced at her heat gauge again, which was now reaching relatively low levels, and looked back out at the Kit Fox. Nopony had said anything on the comms, and her opponent had said earlier that standard Trial rules applied.

Mint raised the right arm of her Adder and aimed directly at the center of the smaller 'Mech. "I guess so. Ponies die in Trials of Position all the time, so they knew what might happen." She fired the PPC at the Kit Fox and watched it flash towards the 'Mech just as Cobalt's voice cut in.

"Enough."

He hadn't been quick enough, however, and the shot smashed into the center torso of the Kit Fox, just below the cockpit. Mint was worried her shot had been too far off and the pilot had died, but was relieved when the explosive bolts popped the access hatch off and the pilot soared out on the ejection seat, trailing smoke behind him. The 'Mech exploded almost immediately afterward, and it toppled over onto its back.

Mint shifted uncomfortably as the pilot sailed into the trees and out of sight. She glanced at the destroyed 'Mech and scratched the back of her neck guiltily. "Sorry, sir. I thought the standard rules applied."

Cobalt sighed on the other side of the comms. "I did not expect you to act with so little hesitation. If anything, it was my fault for underestimating you. The Techs are not going to be happy with me," he muttered. "Regardless, you completed both of your Trials and are now a Warrior of Clan Ghost Bear. Continue down the path to the DropShip."

"Aff, sir." Mint glanced out at the trees. "What's gonna happen to that other MechWarrior?"

"We have already sent a vehicle to pick him up, do not worry. He will survive."

Mint nodded and pushed the throttle forward. "Good." Her Adder quickly broke out into a run, and she smiled to herself just as she heard weapon-fire through the trees to her right. "Now it's finally all over. For me, anyway. I'm gonna be pissed if you screw this up, Mist," she thought as she sped through the trees. As much as she liked Sundance and the others, everypony other than Obsidian tended to be more than a little dull. Azure was the only other one who didn't bore her to death most of the time.

As she raced through the trees, her 'Mech moving faster and faster as her excitement built until it was sprinting all-out down the wide path, she thought of everything she was going to do as soon as they were back on base; starting with a decent meal and a hot bath.

---

Azure glanced at his rear-view screen and let out a nervous sigh. He couldn't shake the feeling that their trial wasn't quite over, despite having completed their original instructions. Was there an actual reason for them to be piloting their 'Mechs right now? It seemed like a waste of time to put them the middle of nowhere just so the two of them could bring the machines immediately back to the DropShip. There had to be something more to it.

The sudden sound of weapon fire startled Azure, and he jumped in his seat. It sounded like it was coming from the left, half a kilometer or so away. His 'Mechs sensors couldn't pick anything up through the dense jungle, but he could guess at what was happening. "Is Mint fighting someone? There wouldn't be an enemy all the way out here, so is it another Ghost Bear?" He glanced back down the path and flicked weapons lock off, anticipating a fight of his own.

Azure shifted the foot pedals and turned around a sharp bend in the path. He had already gotten used to the slightly different layout, though it wasn't quite as comfortable as the old one. The biggest difference was the crosshair. The shape wasn't the same, but that was something he could get used to. What he was unsure about was the way the HUD was projected onto the glass of the cockpit, and the way the crosshair moved to reflect any movements he made. It felt natural on a neurohelmet, pointing towards the front of the 'Mech no matter which way he turned his head, but out in the open like that it just felt strange.

The advantages of not having to wear a neurohelmet made up for the fact, though. He could see neck strain being a non-issue without the extra weight on his head, sounds that were usually quiet and muddled were now much easier to hear, and he could turn his head much faster, to name a few. "They added a lot of cool tech, as well. I wonder what changes they made that we can't see."

Azure's thoughts were interrupted as a heavy 'Mech stepped from the trees six hundred meters away. It was a Ghost Bear Ebon Jaguar; a fairly new machine designed to replace the aging Hellbringer. It mounted an additional ton and a half of armor compared to its predecessor while maintaining the same top speed and a deadly weapons loadout. The 'Mech showed up as hostile, and Azure frowned to himself. It looked like his theory was correct; they had to defeat an enemy in combat to finish the trial.

"MechWarrior Mist, we will now begin your Trial of Position. Standard rules apply. Prepare for combat," a voice said over the comms. The pony on the other end didn't sound all that much older than Azure, but he got the feeling that didn't make the other pilot inexperienced, especially considering he was in the Silveroot Keshik.

"A Trial of Position with just one opponent? I guess they're not giving us the opportunity to start out with a rank other than Warrior," Azure wondered to himself as the Ebon Jaguar raised an arm towards him before lowering it again. "I hope Mint passed hers. I heard an explosion following a PPC shot, so I think she won. Let's hope I can do the same."

Azure glanced around at his surroundings. His opponent was too far away for him to be able to use any of his main weapons, and there wasn't much in the way of cover to use to get closer. Even with their weight difference, the Ebon Jaguar could easily take him out with a few well-placed shots before he got close enough to use his autocannon. He glanced up at the trees arcing overhead, and their dense branches. With a bit of help, he could imagine them obscuring somepony's view for a few seconds. "Let's try it. I think this could work," he thought as he aimed his ER Large laser towards the canopy.

A bright line flashed from the right arm of the Summoner, slashing through the trees and sending countless limbs raining down in-between the two 'Mechs. The result was more spectacular than Azure had hoped for, and the cover was so thick his 'Mech couldn't stay locked on to the Ebon Jaguar. "Perfect. This should get me close enough," he thought as he brought his Summoner up to a sprint.

In the seconds it took the debris to clear out, Azure was almost in range of his autocannon. He fired his large laser again, grunting in satisfaction as it hit the Ebon Jaguar's LRM launcher and destroyed the weapon. He wanted to take out as many of the 'Mechs offensive options as he could, making the final blow easier to take. He raised the left arm of his Summoner and aimed at the smaller machine's right arm, which housed a Gauss Rifle. That was definitely a weapon he didn't want to get hit by.

The other pilot's reflexes were better than Azure had anticipated, however, and the enemy pilot fired his Gauss Rifle at the Summoner's left leg just as Azure fired his autocannon. He felt the world tilt as his 'Mech crumpled to the ground, causing his shot to go wide, and slid forward in the dirt a couple dozen meters.

Critical hit, left leg.

Azure shook his head and pulled desperately at the controls, trying to get his 'Mech to its feet. Staying down would guarantee his defeat, and that was something he couldn't allow.

The cockpit shook as the Ebon Jaguar continued to fire at Azure, trying to inflict as much damage as it could while he couldn't fight back. He glanced worryingly at his damage indicator as he finally pulled himself upright. His Summoner hadn't received as much damage as he had initially thought, but the knocked-out leg made things difficult. He could still use his jump jets to get in closer, but flying wouldn't be a smart idea as long as his enemy still had its Gauss Rifle.

"I have to take out its right arm with this shot," Azure thought as he raised his 'Mech's left arm and aimed at the Ebon Jaguar. The crosshair centered directly over the 'Mech's right elbow, and he pulled the trigger on the joystick, praying for an accurate shot.

Once again, however, the enemy pilot fired at just the right time to throw off Azure's aim. His Summoner's torso rocked to the side as an LBX slug smashed into it, and he watched his own round glance off the Ebon Jaguar's right torso. It managed to destroy the 'Mech's SRM-2 launcher, but that was never a large threat. He really needed to take out the main weapons.

In desperation, Azure locked onto the 'Mech with his SSRM launcher and fired, hoping the six missiles could inflict some damage. They exploded on the Ebon Jaguar's right torso, sending plates of armor flying in all directions. No major damage was inflicted, however, and the 'Mech raised its right arm towards him again, aiming at his left arm.

"I can't let him destroy my autocannon!" Azure twisted the joystick as hard as he could, sending the torso of his Summoner in an arc just as the Ebon Jaguar fired its Gauss Rifle again. The shot smashed into his 'Mech's right torso, just below the cockpit. The force shook the entire cabin violently, shattering the right-most pane of glass and cracking the main one. Azure had also been knocked back in his seat, and was dazed for a moment. He shook his head to clear the fog and blinked his eyes a few times.

Critical hit, Life support.

"Shit, that's bad!" Azure thought as a red light went off at the top of the cockpit. A message popped up on the HUD: the Summoner was about to eject its pilot in an attempt to protect him from further injury. Without a fraction of a second to spare, Azure punched the override button just as the countdown reached zero, and the message disappeared. Allowing himself the briefest moment of relief, he sighed and brushed the small shards of glass from his cooling suit.

Azure brought the torso of his Summoner back around. He had a few seconds while his opponent's Gauss Rifle reloaded, so he had to make use of this time. "It's now or never," he thought as he found the button that activated the directional jump jets. He didn't use them often, but there were times they proved to be useful.

The power of the jump jets startled Azure, and his head hit the back of his seat again. The Ghost Bear Techs must have replaced them because he didn't remember them having so much thrust. He shook his head as his 'Mech flew up and forward, carrying him in an arc that would eventually place him just a couple hundred meters from the Ebon Jaguar. However, he couldn't wait until he landed to fire otherwise his opponent would reload before he got another shot off. Aerial combat wasn't something he had practiced much, but he'd have to take the risk.

Azure aimed his autocannon at the Ebon Jaguar's right arm again. He took a chance and held his shot a second longer than he normally would have, and was satisfied when another LBX shot smacked into his 'Mech. His theory of the enemy pilot being skilled enough to know exactly when to fire had been correct, and he was glad he didn't underestimate his opponent as he re-aimed and fired.

The shot tore through the 'Mech's right arm, smashing into the Gauss Rifle and causing the attached capacitors to explode. The entire right arm was destroyed, and the pilot was stunned for a moment. "That's just what I needed," Azure thought as he locked on to the Ebon Jaguar with his missiles again. He followed up the second autocannon shot with his SSRM's, not waiting to see if the slug hit its mark. The weapons screen flashed, and Azure cursed to himself. The autocannon jammed; if his last attack didn't destroy the 'Mech, the other pilot still had a chance to win.

As the smoke from the missiles cleared and Azure's 'Mech touched down, he was startled for a moment. The Ebon Jaguar was still standing, and was facing him with its remaining arm extended toward the breach in his Summoner's right torso. "It's over," he thought in despair as he closed his eyes and waited for the shot.

But none came.

Tentatively, Azure opened one eye and glanced at the Ebon Jaguar. While it still stood, its arm now hung limply by its side, and he noticed the cockpit was no longer glowing with the light of the screens. Through the holes in his own cockpit he should have been able to hear the 'Mech's fusion reactor as well, but all he could hear was the one in his Summoner. The 'Mech seemed like it was balancing precariously, as if the slightest breeze could knock it over.

"Did... did I do it? Did I win?" Azure could faintly see the pilot moving about inside the cockpit, so they weren't dead. His shots must have damaged the reactor, causing the Ebon Jaguar to shut down before the reactor could go critical. "Kind of ironic, considering those 'Mechs have a reputation to function despite taking catastrophic damage," he thought with a smirk.

Colonel Dash's gravelly voice cut in on the comms suddenly, making Azure jump. "Well done on completing the Trial, MechWarrior Mist. Proceed down the path to the DropShip. It is not far, so even in your condition it will not take long."

"Aff, sir," Azure replied. He let out a shaky breath and glanced at the Ebon Jaguar one last time before pushing the throttle forward. "I guess I'm a Ghost Bear now," he thought. A smile spread across his face, and he leaned back in his seat.

The walk to the DropShip was agonizingly slow. Even if it only took a few minutes, Azure's Summoner limped along at what felt like a snail's pace, lengthened by his impatient feelings of excitement. At some point blood had dripped into Azure's eyes; the result of a cut above his right eye from the glass when his cockpit shattered. He hadn't noticed it at first, but it stung painfully now that the adrenaline had worn off. He wiped the blood from his face and pulled a clotting bandage from the med kit underneath his seat, much like the one he had used to save Mint's life a few weeks ago.

"Speaking of Mint," Azure thought as the DropShip came into view through the trees. His Summoner pulled itself into the large clearing, and he saw her waiting at the open bay of the Ship, already out of her cooling suit.

"Damn. I was gonna ask what took so long, but I can kind of figure it out," Mint called, grinning up at Azure as he limped onto the DropShip.

"Yes, thank you for your concern, I'm doing just fine by the way," he said jokingly through the 'Mech's speaker, unable to hide his own smile. He brought the machine to a halt and shut it down, leaning back into his seat and sighing as the whine of the reactor disappeared.

"Well, that was super stressful," Azure thought. Even so, he felt he had grown as a pony over the course of the trial. And, of course, he and Mint never would have realized their feelings for each other had it not been for the time they spent together. "I sure hope the Trial of Position was the 'secret trial' Hazelnut mentioned. I don't think I could take another six months like that."

---

Meanwhile in Ark, the capital of Angel II...

Discord stepped out into the relatively fresh afternoon air of Angel II and took a deep breath. The staleness of recycled air always had a strange odor to it that he could never get used to, and he preferred to avoid space travel whenever possible. He glanced back at the Silver Eagle, the Monarch Class DropShip that had carried him between planets and the JumpShip. It wasn't anything special, but at least the ride had been tolerable.

"It would have been much more enjoyable if I could have made all of the silverware suddenly sentient, or turned everypony blue," Discord thought. He'd gone days without a hint of chaos, and the magic itching at his fingers only fed his desire to use it. Or, rather, the magic itching at his hooves. He was still in pony-form; a guise he could never really get used to. How did ponies ever do anything with their limbs all ending in useless nubs? That was a question that still hadn't been answered despite his millennia of existence.

Discord exited the spaceport into the massive bustling city and pricked his ears, listening intently to the countless conversations going on around him while he simultaneously cast the tracking spell again. Many of the conversations were about dull and unimportant things that had no significance for him, so he blocked them out and began walking down the sidewalk, his ears open and alert.

"...What did you get on the math test? Professor Jinx gave me a seventy-three. Some nerve..."

"...Take care of them, okay? Make sure they get to bed on time every day. Yes, I know I don't need to worry, but you know how I get sometimes. I'll call you back when I get to Remulac. I love you, too..."

"...I can't believe you beat my high score! It took me hours of suffering in that stuffy arcade to get that many points..."

"...Did you catch what the princesses were saying earlier? I couldn't hear over that stupid screaming foal."

Discord narrowed his eyes slightly at hearing this. The conversation was between two unicorns who had just passed him, walking in the other direction. He glanced around himself and turned to follow them, pretending to be a lost tourist. "I don't know why I'm bothering to be so careful. Even if any of these ponies knew who I was or what I was here to do, it's not like they could do anything to stop me," Discord thought, slightly annoyed at himself for wasting time. He pushed through the crowd until he was walking behind the two unicorns, well within earshot.

"...Something about how Discord went homicidal or whatever."

"Discord? Weren't his powers gone?"

"Supposedly. That's what the rumors all say, so it doesn't make sense that he would start using magic all willy-nilly if they were true."

"What doesn't make sense to me is why they didn't just broadcast a message out to all the planets. Were they paranoid about something?"

"Duh, they were trying to stay hidden from Discord. If he really does have magic back, he could easily find them if they did something like that."

"Oh yeah, good point. I just hope they get off the planet soon, if that's the case. Staying in one place for long doesn't seem like a good idea..."

Discord dropped back from the pair and stepped into an alleyway. It was littered with trash and puddles covered most of the ground, but at least he could stop and think for a moment. "So they're still on Angel II. Finally, I've found them," he thought, sighing in relief. He'd been chasing them for far too long. Now that the end of this endeavor was finally in sight, all he wanted was for it to finally be over.

The liftoff of a DropShip sent tremors through the ground and roused Discord from his thoughts. He gave a distracted glance in the direction of the spaceport, where he briefly glimpsed the shape of a spheroid DropShip passing by. A rather large 'Ship. A Princess Class DropShip, to be precise.

Discord's eyes snapped wide open as he realized this, and he hurriedly stepped from the cover of the buildings to look at the DropShip again. He wasn't sure, but he had to make certain.

It was. The fleeing Princess was indeed the Eclipse, the personal DropShip of princesses Celestia and Luna. It was modified to hold many more weapons and had considerably more armor than a normal Princess, making use of the extra passenger space that was unnecessary for the low number of passengers. Three Avenger Class DropShips took off shortly after, presumably the Eclipse's escort.

The edges of Discord's mouth curled into a smirk. "Perfect timing," he muttered. The air around him crackled lightly with energy for a moment before he suddenly disappeared in a flash of white light, leaving a few bystanders confused and wondering if they had just imagined the gray pony.

Discord blinked around at the familiar interior of the luxury liner. Being the personal vessel of the leaders of the Inner Sphere, it was obviously much more kempt than any other 'Ship, and on a normal day one would find it difficult to not find a cleaning pony in nearly every hallway. Discord had teleported himself to the entrance of the Earth Deck; an entire level of the ship dedicated to a massive garden, complete with day-night light cycles. He had often wondered what would happen to the various plants onboard if he allowed just a little bit of his magic to seep into them.

"I don't have time to enjoy myself yet. I've got a job to do," Discord muttered to himself as he morphed back into his usual draconequus form and turned around to face the elevator. "Now where would those two be hiding? I thought they might be on this level, but it seems I was wrong..."

Discord frowned to himself as he felt a light tug in the back of his mind; the tracking spell had found them on one of the upper levels. In such close proximity, there wasn't a shielding spell strong enough to hide them for long. "Now I've got you," he thought. He'd never been to the spot the princesses were at currently, so he'd have to teleport nearby and walk the rest of the distance. Teleporting to an unfamiliar place was tricky business.

A white flash enveloped Discord as he appeared in one of the passenger hallways of the Eclipse, not far from where the princesses were. From what he could hear they were in one of the guest bedrooms, talking to two other ponies. "Hmm. They won't mind if I crash the party. I have been very patient these past months, after all." Discord turned himself invisible and floated into the air, preparing to phase through the wall directly into the room, but stopped when the door suddenly swung open and Celestia stepped out. Luna followed her sister shortly afterward, but the other two ponies remained inside.

"Thank you again for accompanying us. We know how difficult it is to leave your citizens in somepony else's hooves," Celestia said, turning to face through the door.

"Oh no, it's no problem. You can get around a lot faster if I come along, and this is very urgent. If there's anything else I can do to assist, just let me know," a quiet voice said from inside the room. She sounded painfully familiar to Discord, but he couldn't place a finger on why.

Luna nodded to the two ponies. "We will. In the meantime, you should pack up your things. Ariel is where you get off, is it not?"

"Yep, that's my stop. I didn't need to come along this far, but I figured I'd make sure everything was continuing just fine before I left. I hope everything ends well. Let me know if you ever need help again, and the House of Honesty will come running," the second voice said.

"Ah, that voice I recognize. Prince Apple Orchard," Discord thought. Ruler of the House of Honesty and descendant of Applejack, he was the perfect embodiment of the element he represented. As hard-working as every one of his ancestors, there was no mistaking the family resemblance, assuming his orange coat and blonde mane didn't give it away.

"Thank you very much," Celestia replied. She and Luna turned to go, and the door swung shut in a green aura. They dipped there heads together in quiet conversation, and began walking in Discord's direction.

Discord rubbed his hands together and floated back down to the ground. "I can't wait to see the looks on their faces when they realize I finally caught up to them," he thought gleefully as he removed the invisibility spell.

Celestia was the first to see Discord. A flicker of terror flashed briefly across her face, accompanied by a light gasp that alerted her sister. Luna managed to look not quite as surprised; as if she never really thought they could run from him forever. "Hello, you two. It really has been a while, hasn't it?"

Celestia blinked and took a moment to compose herself. When she spoke her voice was clear, though Discord swore he could hear a hint of fear in it. "A pleasure to see you again, Discord."

"Do drop the niceties, princess. You know why I'm here," Discord said grimly, flashing the ring on his finger.

"Yes, I do," Celestia said with a heavy sigh. "For the record, I didn't want to put that spell on you, but you gave me no-"

"There's always a choice!" Discord growled. "Have neither of you learned anything over the past millennia? Did Twilight and the others not teach you anything about friendship? And what about their descendants? They also demonstrated immense trust and loyalty, which you both clearly lack."

"And what of you and your past actions?" Luna shot back. "I agree it was not the best decision in retrospect, and we are truly sorry it came to that, but you were going to murder millions of innocent ponies, adding to the already staggering casualties caused during the Clan Invasion. Everypony on both sides wished for the end of the war, yet you wanted to continue it for revenge. How can you lecture us about friendship when you acted like that?"

"Well- That was-" Discord sputtered, his face a mix of rage and disbelief. "She's right, you know," a voice in the back of his head whispered. "After everything you've done so far, all you've managed to do was prove their suspicions and validate their actions."

Discord shook his head vigorously to clear the traitorous thoughts and glared at the princesses. "I don't have to sit here and take this. You wronged me, and now I'm going to make it right." He raised his right hand in the air and opened it with the palm facing the ceiling. A white ball of pure magic began forming above it, burning painfully bright and growing in size with each passing second. Discord smirked and reared his arm back, preparing to throw the now coconut-sized sphere. "Goodbye, princesses. Say hello to Fluttershy for me," he said as he launched the projectile towards Celestia and Luna.

"No!" the familiar voice from earlier shouted. Discord glanced over at the door the princesses had just left, which was now open. A flash of yellow darted out of it and bowled Celestia and Luna out of the way in time to save their lives, but not her own. Just before the magic sphere hit her, Discord caught a glimpse of green eyes wide with fear and a flowing bubblegum-pink mane, and he finally realized why she was so familiar as her body suddenly imploded, every single bone in her body crushing into a fine powder.

Discord saw Fluttershy dying in front of him again, only this time, it was all his fault.

---

On New Syrtis, a planet under the control of the House of Laughter...

A sphinx raised his head suddenly, feeling something like a shift in the wind. His constantly moving mental wind, that was. Something had happened; something important and far away. He furrowed his brow as the countless timelines he had studied crumbled, making way for the new future. "Hold on here. What just happened?" he thought, trying to trace the countless threads back to the moment that changed everything. The biggest difference he could see with a glimpse in all of the possible futures was the absence of a single pony, one who should have gone on to do many more great and wonderful things.

"Ah, Princess Skyfire sacrificed herself to save Celestia and Luna from Discord. This changes... everything," the sphinx grumbled. He blinked his sightless eyes, the price for his ability to see all the potential futures, and began studying the new possibilities than had laid themselves out in front of him. "Hmm. In most of the futures I saw she wasn't able to react in time, and through a series of complicated events, the war would have died out in less than a year and peace would have reigned. If I recall correctly, the chances of this happening were... less than one percent. Improbable, but not impossible."

The sphinx followed the most likely path along, beginning the painstaking process of watching every possible future. A pony would discover him in the next couple days, a young MechWarrior following in the hoofsteps of his older brother; not just a family member, but a senior officer, and a close friend. This stallion was a member of the Pinkie Brigade, and the sphinx could see the perilous future ahead of him. Even through the pain he would endure, however, this pony was going to alter everything with one small action, a seemingly miniscule mistake that would cause the salvation of the Inner Sphere, along with his own demise.

"Young Granite," the sphinx rumbled, as if he were present and listening to the large blue creature. "Whether you will it or not, the fate of not just the Inner Sphere, but of all ponies, now rests upon your death."

Next Chapter: Chapter 8 - Trial by Fire Estimated time remaining: 4 Hours, 17 Minutes