Exploding halfway-charged gemstones were roughly comparable to misfired Chinese fireworks that burned your hands so badly that you couldn’t use them for a week. In the worst case, a fully charged gemstone would make you slightly thankful that you couldn’t feel anything from the neck down. A little god was now about to release his full power into the world which would not only send the little tree palace and Sunny Town but most likely the entire forest into the next galaxy. Something Thiemo was not entirely looking forward to, not like he had a choice in that.

Of course, he could use Protes to protect himself, but the following implosion, the resulting lack of oxygen, and the pure heat would kill him as soon as the shield dropped. Thanks to its limited capacity, that was bound to happen before the inferno would be over. Besides that, what would be the point of rising like a phoenix out of the ashes? Amaryllis and all the others, including the entire town, would be gone. He carried a lot on his shoulders, but this was a load he refused to add there.

Without further ado, he teleported with Protes directly in front of the pup, who was still literally overflowing with magic and seemed to look through him with his completely white eyes. Since the staff was now uncharged, he held it against the diamond dog again, this time against his head. The result was, of course, the same as last time, and Thiemo found himself at the other side of the room again. His shoulder protested with pain and his arm was getting tired, but he had to keep it together now. Protes glowed again as he once again teleported in front of the young diamond dog. Again the staff fell down onto the little diamond dog, and the game started from the beginning. After two more repetitions, Thiemo was at his end. His shoulder was probably blue from many bruises and was covered in blood thanks to the splinters that only kept pushing deeper into his skin. Protes fell to the ground with a quiet clank as his right hand failed. The most serious thing, however, was that the pup didn’t seem to mind the missing energy. The magical pressure increased and was so thick that even gravity got stronger.

Would he have to kill him? That was the question that shot through his mind. One life for that of thousands. On television, it had always seemed so noble, but these heroes were sacrificing just their own life. But he was not a hero and especially not noble. The question was how he could kill him. His staff was a protector, and he no longer had the power to give him a blow on his head that would be strong enough to do the job. And even if he killed him, the energy had to go somewhere. It wouldn’t be the entire forest, but a large part of it. With him in it. The longer he waited, the more likely it was that the explosion would catch the fleeing foals and Amy. “Damn it, I don’t want to die yet…” His view quickly went through the room. Some of the splinters were stuck in the ground, and with enough force, it would be child’s play. His left hand automatically wandered to the object and wrapped around it. It was almost like little dagger but with a sharp grip. He felt the wood cutting into his flesh and blood dripping down from the tip of the splinter he held in his grip. With the last vestiges of his strength, he grabbed Protes with his other hand. The staff, now covered in blood, helped him on his legs.

He supported himself with the loyal metal and was able to stand again. Slowly, step by step, he walked towards the dog. With every step, it got clearer to him just what he was about to do. He stopped to sort his thoughts. “Take energy, kill, and protect yourself…” The staff glowed brightly from the last attempt to disarm the living bomb. “I can’t do that… He’s a damn child!” Thiemo dropped onto his knees and dropped the splinter to fully support himself with Protes. “Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!” How could it all go wrong like this? How?

Again he looked up. The sight before him caused his breath to catch. Behind the pup was a gigantic eye looking out of the wall, staring at the scene. It was as green as the grass on a sunlit summer meadow that moved slightly in the wind. That was the closest thing to describe the eye, and for a second, he thought that his exhaustion was driving him to the point of hallucinations. But then a branch emerged from the wall and lightly tapped against the head of the diamond dog. The effect kicked in immediately, and the pup’s body crumpled and fell to the ground, the stored magic disappearing. The pressure in the room went back to normal, and Thiemo saw the eye looking at him.

“So we met again,” a monotonic voice that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at the same time said. “Strange how our paths seem to cross.”

Relieved that his end had not come yet, Thiemo let himself fall down and laid flat on the floor. “I have no idea what you’re talking about or what you are, but thanks. I thought this would be the end for me.”

“We should be thanking you. An old friend asked me to find her offspring and bring him back home. But due to his connection to the earth, it was hard to find him. His magical burst was what caught my attention. I think a reward would be adequate since you are the one who caused it.” The sounds that escaped Thiemo’s mouth was a mixture of groaning and laughter.

“I almost turned the Lost Forest into the Lost Crater. Thousands would have died, and you thank me?”

"Live and death are but a single unit. Without one, the other can’t be,” the voice answered. Whatever this creature was, it was clear that it was from beyond that very barrier. No one who was in the circle of life would talk like that.

“So… Who are you?” For a few seconds, it was silent, the rustling of the leaves the only sound to be heard.

“Maybe I was too quick, maybe not. I have no name, but if you want to give me one, Trent might be fitting.” Thiemo struggled to keep his eyes open, but the exhaustion and stress from the battle was catching up to him. “Now then, goodbye, old friend.” The world around him turned black.

Twilight started from her sleep as she felt something she hadn’t felt in a long time. “By my mother…” she mumbled and looked around in the cabin. On the turned down bench opposite to her laid Applejack; between her forelegs was Auralia. The two hadn’t noticed her short scream and slept peacefully snuggled together.

A knocking at the door caught Twilight’s attention. “Twilight darling, are you awake?” Rarity’s voice came through the closed door.

Sleepy, she got up on her four hooves and freed herself from the blanket she had wrapped around one of her wings. “Hold on, Rarity.” She levitated the clingy piece of fabric back on her bed and stepped out of her cabin and into the corridor. Rarity still wore her sleeping mask on her forehead and was encased in her usual purple dressing gown.

Twilight, I don’t think I have to tell you why I woke up, right?” Her friend perked up her ears. “I don’t think I am the only one affected either.”

“I know, Rarity. I believe every unicorn up to Canterlot has noticed it. What I wonder is what it was. I know of nopony with that much magic aside from my mother, my aunt, Cadance, or Eris.” Rarity coughed. “Or me, yes. Something similar happened the last time as I took my entrance exam for the school.” Even as a princess, she couldn’t bypass all the rules. The decision that her mother would teach her in the end was made because her magical abilities greatly surpassed the teachers’. If she had gotten another seizure during class, none of the teachers would have been able to do anything about it.

Her friend looked clearly nervous. “So you have no idea what it was?” Twilight could only shake her head.

“No, but it came out of the direction of the Lost Forest. If I had to guess, I would say it had something to do with that Thiemo.”

“I’ve warned you, Celestia,” Eris said while she levitated to the other side of the table and moved a chess figure across the board with her tail.

The alicorn hummed her agreement. “That you have indeed. But you can’t always expect everything. That is why you have to plan for the unexpected. And maybe Gaia should look after her offspring better in the future. I will have to talk with her about that.”

“I don’t think she wants to intrude your little campaign. At least as long as it’s not absolutely necessary.” Celestia responded to her move and took a knight off the board. “Luna will also be here in a few minutes to ask questions. Maybe you should also listen to what she has to say.”

"My sister has no idea. She is naive if she believes that everything is so simple, Eris. The raids of the humans are becoming rampant, and I do not plan to let it continue any further.”

“What you want to do? Exterminate them? Send them into Tartarus? You know about the conditions on Ti just like as I do. Are you really surprised?” Eris moved her queen and mated Celestia. “And just in case you really consider one of these options, I believe there are a few others who would hinder you. Our task is to watch them, not to kill.”

“Let that be one of my concerns. I will just not let the past repeat itself.”

“Why should it, Celestia? Nightmare is dead, wiped out by your own daughter. Luna is safe here in this castle and with friends. What are you afraid of?”

Celestia moved her rook in front of her king. “What makes you think I am afraid?”

“Don’t act so innocent,” she answered huffily. “I know you better than I would like to, to be honest.” Eris’ bishop moved across the board and brought her king to a fall. “Checkmate, Celestia. I will bid you my farewells for today.” Eris acted like she was teleporting, but she instead disguised her form by blending in with the surroundings and laid down one of the large bookshelves of the library. Not a second later, the large double door opened, and just as expected, Luna entered the room.

“Sister, I hope you have noticed it as well. What is going on there?” Eris knew that she gave Thiemo the leather bracelet to keep an eye on him. Of course, she used the connection to her advantage as well.

“Don’t worry, Luna. The human had an encounter with Karst, Gaia’s youngest.”

“I thought you had planned the route? Did you know he was there?” Eris grinned.

“Of course not, Luna; I would have never risked that.” Oh how well the Princess of the Sun could lie behind her poker face. Did she really think the human would kill the puppy? And all that just to get Gaia on her side? “But I am still thankful that Trent intervened. I bet he would never have admitted it, but the loss of an entire forest would have hit him hard.”

“Not only the forest, sister. Sunny Town as well. It would have been in range of the explosion.” Of course, Celestia had taken that into account. If it would have come down to it, she would have teleported there herself and saved the citizens. It would have been easy for the princess, Eris knew that.

“Why do you think I am awake? I kept an eye on everything. But like I said, Lulu, Trent saved me the work.” Luna nodded and turned around.

“Then you should maybe rest now. I will guard the events for the rest of the night.” Celestia smiled, and with a blink of her horn, she disappeared.

“Eris, I am worried about her. She seems so cold,” Luna turned towards her. It was worth a try to beat the Princess of the Night and Avatar of Shadows in a game of hide-and-seek.

She turned visible again. “We all have our monsters, Luna. The statue of hers stands out there in the maze. She never really got over it.” The princess nodded sadly and closed the door behind her as she left the library and Eris to themselves.

Thiemo slowly opened his eyes and was greeted by a bright morning sun. He tried moving his right arm to protect his eyes, but a piercing pain stopped him. He looked around and noticed that he was lying on the meadow between their tents. His coat was lying a short distance away and seemed to be wet, a hint that it might have been cleaned. The holes also seemed to be stitched. His right arm and most parts of his torso were wrapped in bandages that peeked out from beneath his shirt. “Good thing the princess gave us a medic.” His mumbled words didn’t seem to be unnoticed.

In the next moment, one of the tents opened, and Amaryllis in all her glory stepped out. “Thiemo!” She rushed over to him and rubbed her cheek against his. “What happened? Are you alright? What happened with Karst?” Thanks to her outburst, the others came out of their tents as well.

“I’m fine, just a bit stiff.” He tried to sit up, but Heart pushed him back to the ground.

“Some splinters were very deep in your shoulder, and I had to make a few stitches. You should lie down and rest for a while.” Since he didn’t have the power to object, he laid back down on the grass gain.

“What happened? I think I enraged the little guy too much. But I didn’t expect him to have this much magic. I know that Twilight Sparkle—”

“Princess Twilight Sparkle,” Heart corrected.

“That the princess was powerful. But she must have gone easy on me during our fight. Karst literally wiped the floor with me. With his temper, he had gained the upper hand and then… no idea. His eyes glowed white and then the magic began to accumulate like crazy. He almost blew up the entire forest. If Trent hadn’t arrived, we wouldn’t be speaking now.” The others looked at him, confused.

“Who is Trent?” Lyra then asked.

“Good question.” Thiemo considered it for a moment. “If I had to take a guess, I would say a tree spirit, an ent. But he shut down Karst with a small touch. Tree spirits are not strong enough to do that to an offspring of an avatar. And he called Gaia a friend, not his master. So, I have no clue.” What worried him more was what Trent meant with ‘old friend’. “How long was I passed out?”

“It will soon be noon. Amaryllis managed to catch up to us and told me that you stayed in there by yourself. When I arrived there, everything was gone: the trees, the houses, everything.” This wasn’t surprising. He suspected that Karst had created them with his magic. “Then I brought you back to the camp.” Thiemo stopped.

“Nothing against you, Hawk, but how did you carry me?”

“Let’s just say I have my methods.” Judging by her grin, this was the best answer he was going to get.

“What’s more important,” Lyra began, “is that the town is back to normal. All the citizens are real ponies again. So they must have gotten their souls back.” Now Thiemo understood what Trent meant with rewards. He put the souls back into their bodies. Usually, if the trees that were holding them disappeared, the souls would have to wander without a body. “And something else, the fog disappeared!”

Now Thiemo didn’t get around sitting up and look around. Like Lyra had said, the fog was really gone, and there were no signs of it ever being there.

“Shouldn’t we then…” Thiemo began but Hawk shook her head.

“You won’t get far in your condition. Sleep for a couple of more hours, and then we will talk about the continuation of our journey.” Thiemo nodded. “And maybe you should change your spot and get something to eat first.”

He lifted his left side a bit and saw the red grass under his body. “Don’t worry. I disinfected and bandaged everything before we put you down here. Better out here than bleeding up the tents.” Heart nodded to Amaryllis, who then levitated him a bit off the ground. The medic got a blanket and placed him a bit away from his pool of blood. “We will change the bandages before we move on.” He landed softly on the blanket, and Amy immediately took a seat at his side. Now that the excitement was ebbing down, Thiemo realized how tired he still was, so it didn’t take long before he was off visiting the land of dreams again.

Author's Notes:

It's Saturday, so why is there a chapter? Easy, because tomorrow there will be one too.
The next interlude is small, but has a lot of important content. So we thought it might be the best to publish both on one weekend so that you don't have wait a week for around 1k words.

Thanks to Gron for translating this chapter.
Special thanks to JBL for proofreading and editing.

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