Metus trotted into his study hurriedly and locked the door behind him with barely a thought, the heavy iron bolt sliding home with a very final clank. He did not want to be disturbed during the task he was about to perform, and had left clear orders to that effect with his steward… The simpleton was generally quite dependable, but this was no time to take unnecessary chances.

He had felt the device this time, as surely as if he’d bumped into it in one of the passages of his manor… Somewhere out there in Equestria the device, “Aeon” it was called, had awoken for a brief moment - and he would find it this time…

He walked around a ring of bookshelves situated along the outer edge of the chamber, each filled to near capacity with ancient works and unusual curiosities. As he walked, his eyes scanned the titles of books the Royal Guard would confiscate in an instant should they be discovered - fortunately, long ago, he'd paid the right people the right favors to alleviate that threat. He halted, mid pace, and horn glowing plucked out a large and very old tome from a shelf near the floor then turned and trotted across the room to his desk with the book floating along next to him. He set the tome down with a thump and began to flick through the pages as he muttered to himself. A quill, glowing with his magic, scratched away at a scrap of parchment next to him as he read.

Occasionally he would stop and examine the parchment, nodding to himself as various bits and pieces of the spell came together, or quickly pacing across the room to fetch yet another ancient book.

After a final flourish of the quill and some more scrutinization of the symbols he had been sketching, he got up and strode towards the center of the room as the most recent book closed with a muffled boom behind him. In the center of the round room was a large nine-pointed star carved deeply into the bare flagstones of the floor, and at each point of the star stood an intricate silver candlestick holding a large black candle.

He extended his will to the wick of the nearest candle, setting it alight with a thought. It jumped to life with a greenish flame that sparkled with it's own magics, and it burned in a smoky, oily fashion with the aroma of exotic incense. Slowly walking around the pattern on the floor, he ignited all the candles in the same manner before taking up a position in the center.

He smiled inwardly; a casting this complex was very dangerous - but seeking great knowledge often required great risks, and he was confident in his abilities.

Head raised, he began to chant in a sharp, guttural language; sounds not normally associated with unicorns flowed forth and his horn flickered with the complex spell. Brow furrowed and ears back, he strove to recall complex verses in the ancient tongue of the dragons, and still maintain control over the energies he drew to himself.

Suddenly he was surrounded by brilliant emerald fire. Dragon fire. The candle flames had expanded to become roaring infernos, charring patches on the ceiling - yet, somehow, he felt only the barest hint of the blast furnace around him. The very air crackled with barely contained eldritch energy that he was about to harness.

He stopped chanting and took a deep breath, clearing his thoughts, and then recited the words he’d just written on the parchment – holding the arcane symbols he’d sketched in his mind’s eye.

“Ieo denenne mesenne che’cai!”

He closed his eyes, visualizing the threads of the spell he was shaping with his will, and with the gentleness of releasing a butterfly he let the symbols flow into the pattern…

And the knowledge he sought appeared in his mind with a force that physically slid him back a pace.

He grunted and leaned forward into a gale of magical energies that assaulted his thoughts with numbing power. He strove to remain as a leaf carried along upon the torrent of arcane power, and not simply be incinerated by it. He had no idea - he was not prepared - he…

No - that line of thought simply would not do...

A feral grimace graced the unicorn's features as he fought for control. Hooves slipping slightly he took one difficult stride back into the center of the spell; the horn upon his brow flared brightly with the effort to control the energies around him. He steadied himself and concentrated on the image floating before his mind's eye, committing it to memory.

His liege was right; the Aeon was immensely powerful…

There was something else, some crucial bit of information that was subtly hidden here - hidden in plain sight and therefore easily overlooked. With the practiced thoughts of a master, he walled off and silenced the small part of his mind not fighting against the titanic powers vying to incinerate his very essence. He gingerly felt around the spell; a nudge, a thought, a careful twist of purpose and the knowledge sprang free...

He winced again as a new image struck him like a hammer blow, but this time he was better prepared for it. As he strove to memorize the fleeting image he gasped, it couldn’t be - it was forbidden! But, there it was nonetheless...

There was a son?

The shock of this caused his control to waver; he began to notice the inferno's heat around him - felt himself being inexorably devoured by the spells in play - it was time to end this.

After the second image had passed his mind’s eye, memorized in every detail he could manage, he quenched the spell - guiding the feedback of an unprepared grounding around him. A ripple of arcane power exploded from the center of the room, blowing loose parchment from the shelves and tables into the air to flutter about like wounded birds for a moment before the intense heat reduced them to fine ash.

The candles instantly went out - their deafening roar and unbearable heat gone in the instant from one heartbeat to the next - and a deathly chill permeated the room in the inferno’s absence. There was an utter, complete silence as Metus stood in the center of the room - legs splayed and head bowed in exhaustion as fine ash fell like snow. But he wore a wicked smile despite it all.

The spell was over. He had the knowledge he needed and then some.

The silence was broken by laughter…

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