The sun bore down on you as you trudged along the long-gone river, sweat pouring down the inside of your helm. It had been two days since Drejtimi’s leave, and you had been walking solidly ever since, despite the cries and aches from your exhausted form. You pressed on: the only thing that mattered now was getting back to Celestia before Ajax did something he’d regret.

However, the constant struggle with the heat was draining your body, and you almost found yourself cursing the sun that eternally shone down on you, hindering your progress. Although the undead have no need for food or drink, you’d kill for a pitcher of water.

The sound of your iron boots shuffling along the desert floor broke the uneasy silence that accompanied this lifeless, barren wasteland, and you found yourself glancing back uncertainly from time to time. That demon… Drejtimi had mentioned an inner feeling of something terrifying, and you did not for a second doubt that she had lied. You could only but wonder as to what she had seen…

Could have it been the Abyss that Drejtimi felt? You were almost certain the Demon had something to do with the four fallen kings of New Londo: the semblance in body could not be a mere coincidence. And the magic the beast used reminded you ever often of humanity: eternally coveted by the Darkwraiths, the residents of the Abyss…

With nothing to do but worry and ponder, you continue your trek along the riverbed, inching towards the town of Dodge City. As you began to worry if Drejtimi had misled you with false information, you reach the crest of a small hill, to be greeted by the sight of a small town below. Relief wells up inside you, and you quickly rush down to the town.

As you shakily stumble through the streets, a pair of Royal Guards decorated with weather beaten armour notice you and immediately rush up to you. ”Who in Tartarus are you?” the soldiers ask questioningly, poised to strike at you.

“My name is Solaire! Solaire of Astora!” you gasp. The two earth ponies look at each other in disbelief, before turning back to you. ”Captain Solaire? You’re… you’re the human! Celestia told us in advance of your arrival!” the soldier on the right exclaims.

”Yeah… wait, you’ve been MIA for a few days, we were meant to be on the lookout for y-“

“I know I was separated from my soldiers, but there are far more important matters at hand! We cannot afford to stand here and hold palaver” you interrupt as the left-hand solider splutters.

”W-what do you mean, Sir?”

“Celestia is in gravest danger, and I am the only one who is aware of it!” The guards share another uneasy look. “You’re saying that the Princess… is in danger?”

“Indeed, and we must make haste to Canterlot!” The looming threat to Celestia focuses the guards: their training now coming into effect.

”Should we contact Celestia by letter?”

“No, any form of delay is courting disaster. Besides, I suspect the protagonist at hand will be ready to intercept any incriminating letters… Is there no other way to travel quickly in this land?” you ask. The left soldier ponders your question while the other runs off.

After an agonizing minute of thinking, the soldier’s eyes widen. “Aside from magic, I can’t think of any way to get you to Canterlot instantly. We have a unicorn in our squad, Tesla, but he’s only good at combat magic, and he’s not the kind of unicorn that can send a pony from one side of Equestria to the other!”

You clench your fists in frustration, panic threatening to cloud your mind and judgement completely. Suddenly, an idea strikes you.

“Of course… it’s so unfathomably nonsensical, that it simply has to work…”

”You mind sharing it, Sir? We don’t exactly have many options, so anything you can come up with is as good as anything.”

“Of course soldier… may I first ask of your name?”

”I’m Vandal. My comrade is Quicksilver; if he’s as bright as I think he is, he’s probably gone off to find Tesla…”

“Good, we’ll need the unicorn for this.” As if on cue, Quicksilver returns with the unicorn who you presume to be Tesla by his side. Tesla salutes before you, standing at attention. “How can assist you, Sir?”

“I just need you to channel as magical power as possible, into me.” Tesla looks at you with a morbid curiosity. “Are you sure, Sir? I don’t want to be responsible if you turn into a red mist-“

“I wouldn’t ask you to do this if it wasn’t our final option.”

”By your command, Sir.” Tesla takes a tentative step back as you fumble in your bottomless box. As the unicorn steadies himself, you pull out and grasp a homeward bone tightly.

”Are you ready?”

“Do it, Tesla. Give it as much as you can.”

The unicorn’s horn flashes and an intense magical aura surrounds you, filling your body with an unnatural magical essence. You immediately snap the bone in half, it’s home seeking properties turning your body ethereally instantly. As your body loses its form you concentrate tightly on Celestia, your mind focused completely on the wondrous deity. As you vanish on the spot, you briefly consider the penalties for this failing. If the undead bone stayed true to itself, then you would be making an unexpected and untimely return to the Kiln of the First Flame… But if your theory was correct, then the borrowed magic from Tesla should override the bone’s innate desire to return to a bonfire, and instead transport you to Celestia… Before your mind itself vanishes, you internally pray to Celestia, preparing yourself for the worst…

You flash back into existence, hitting the marble floor painfully.  ”Solaire!” cries a wonderfully familiar voice, and as you pull yourself up off the floor Celestia rushes at you, her eyes wide with joyful surprise.

“It appears my plan worked…” you whisper breathlessly.

Celestia throws her hooves over your shoulders, wrapping you in an awkward embrace which you return with gusto. ”I thought you had perished! Did the changelings overpower you? Where did they take you? How-“

“I shall explain to you shortly, dear Celestia. As overjoyed as I am to find you safe and sound, there is a Hornet nearby, one that must be crushed immediately…”

”Your tenacity is admirable” leers a voice from nearby.

You and Celestia both turn to face Ajax, as he calmly marches towards you. You quickly look round, noticing with disdain that Celestia’s throne room was once again left unguarded ”Ajax? Why have you come here at this moment?” Celestia asks, her voice full of uncertainty. Ajax chuckles in response; a low, guttural sound. “I have a few loose ends to tie up. I must simply ask though: How did you survive the train?”

“The vile changelings overpowered me, and brought me back to their wretched Hive.” You say calmly.

”Ah. How amusing. I had presumed that the changelings would have killed you there and then. No matter…”

”Ajax, what is the meaning of this?” Celestia asks anxiously.

“Ajax is the one who betrayed me on the train. By his hand, I was captured.” You say bluntly, as you step in front of Celestia. You flex your hands, ready to charge at him.

”W-what? Ajax? Is this true?” Celestia splutters.

”I won’t deny it.” Ajax stares you down calmly.

”But… but why would you…?”

”Because Celestia, the changelings offered me something you denied me. They saw my talents and skills, and rewarded me for putting them to good use. They offered me a chance to become somepony who mattered: a pony of power, rank, importance! That’s something you’ve denied me for too long.” Ajax’s revelation nearly brings Celestia to complete tears.

”You… you were the one who let the changelings into Canterlot… and you betrayed Solaire as well… and all for what! Rank? Power? Have you any shame at all?” she cries.

”No. I regret not a single action I have undertaken. Now, enough of this…” Without a moment’s hesitation, Ajax charges and you rush forward to meet him. As your blow connects, a blinding light surrounds you, and when it retreats, you find yourself in an expansive courtyard, not too far from the Palace itself.

”Much better” says a voice from behind you.

As you turn round to face Ajax he kicks you squarely in the stomach, sending you sprawling across the concrete floor. ”Poor performance Solaire! Where’s your fighting spirit gone, eh?”

You clutch your agonized sides, gritting your teeth against the pain. You almost certainly had a couple of broken ribs now. “You… will… pay for that.” You groan.

”I very much doubt that. Let me ask though: what became of the changelings?”

“They… they all died…”

”Really? You never quit, do you Solaire?”

“I was not responsible for their deaths.”

”Of course you weren’t…”

“Listen to me Ajax!” you shout as you climb to your feet once more. “There is a new threat to Equestria, one that overshadows the changelings completely. I have seen it with my own eyes, escaping just barely. It is… it is a demon from my realm.”

Ajax snorts. “And why should I believe you?”

“Because if I die, then all of Equestria will be threatened! I am the only one who has faced the monster!” Ajax seems to ponder your words, if only for a moment.

“You have done an unthinkable crime Ajax. But a new threat looms… cease this attack, and you shall not come to harm. But if you end my life, then you’ll doom this entire land…”

”This is not my land anymore. I swore allegiance only to the changelings, and now that they are dead… I don’t care what happens. I’m not going to spend my life rotting in a jail cell, or on the run from Celestia. No… I’m going to finish what the changelings didn’t.” Ajax’s horn glows and his spear materialises in front of you, it’s enchanted, barbed head facing you ominously. ”This is your fault, Solaire. Everything was planned perfectly, until your interference cost me everything. You prevented the invasion, you stole my rightful rank as Captain as a further insult, and even now you still persist. Know that all your efforts were in vain, Solaire. Know that as I bleed the life out of you!”

The spear hurls towards you and you awkwardly roll out of the way, before lunging at Ajax. Your right hand connects with his helmet, sending him staggering back, and he retaliates with a blast of energy that sweeps you off your feet. Before his infernal spear can skewer you, you charge at him, wrestling him to the ground. Fatigue overwhelms you though, and Ajax quickly reverses the struggle. A magical aura surrounds you, picking you up, before slamming you into the ground. Pain fills your vision, and as you come back to your senses you find Ajax pinning you down, spear poised to strike.

”No more games. This ends now!” he yells in fury.

You struggle against him, desperately trying to throw the armour-laden unicorn off you, but to no avail. Ajax senses your desperation, eliciting a wicked smile. “Yes, Solaire. Struggle to the end…” As his spear angles towards you desperately clutch your talisman, which was fortunately just within your grasp. On instinct, you whisper a prayer, and a blinding light emits from the talisman in your hand.  Ajax roars in fury as he is blinded, and the spear misses your helm by centimetres. You kick the treacherous pony off you, wrench his spear from the ground, and drive it squarely into the armour plates protecting his neck.

The spearhead cuts through the armour like air, and pierces his neck. His eyes widen in shock, before he collapses to the ground before you.

”Solaire!”

Celestia rushes towards you, accompanied by a squad of armed guards who form a circle around the collapsed, dying traitor. ”Forgive me, Solaire… I did not know to where Ajax had-“

“There is no need to apologise. I too was caught of guard…” Faint chuckles catch your attention, and you turn back to Ajax, whose eyes had taken on a strange intensity.

”I suppose I should… congratulate you…”he whispers.

“Save your breath. We’ll get you to a healer shortly.”

”D-don’t bother. I’m… finished. Just hear me out… one last time…” You cautiously kneel down to Ajax, who leans as close to you as he can. ”Just remember Solaire… when that d-demon you mentioned… when it brings destruction to this accursed land… remember that it was you…. Your fault…”

With a heavy sigh, Ajax’s body grows still, and you ponder the words of the dead pony.

Remember that it was you… your fault… Could it be true? Was this all ultimately your fault? Had you not assisted Celestia… would these events still have played out? A cruel irony… You sacrificed yourself to save one world, and so condemned another….

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