Karon's mouth was open in what he believed would be his final scream, his eyes tearing up from the wind, and his eardrums close to rupturing from the wails of despair around him. However, before he reached the ground everything turned purple, and instead of feeling himself become a red stain on the grassy landscape below, the world shifted and he found himself hanging over a flowing river.

He hung suspended in the air for a brief moment, but then the gravity that would have been his murderer set in once more and pulled him down towards the water. His scream cut off as surprise replaced terror, but his mouth was open none the less, and when he disappeared beneath the surface, water threatened to flood his lungs.

Sputtering and gurgling sounds could vaguely be heard within the river, accompanied by splashing made from frantically moving limbs as Karon struggled to reach the surface. With a final push he emerged from the river slowly carrying him downstream and tasted air again. His lungs burned, and every breath in was followed by a hacking cough sending burning pain throughout his chest. His wings were gone.

But he was alive.

After much scrambling and clawing his way through the water, Karon managed to climb up to solid ground, and there he fell over on his back, staring up at the sky. It was tinted in a myriad of blue and black shades, the moon barely visible any more. Luna preparing to leave the sky to her sister's care.

But where the early morning would usually be heralded by not only light, but also the sound of the world waking up, now only silence reigned. There was a solid tension in the air. Like the shocked aftermath of a great tragedy where the event was so powerful that it left an echo, creating ghosts of memories and feelings that would haunt the coming generations sensitive to such things.

Karon felt...empty. The relief of knowing death was no longer staring him in the face had passed, and now only tiredness remained around the aching hole where his heart should have been. He swallowed the saliva gathered in his mouth and let that tiredness drag his mind down towards a soothing darkness.

But his journey into unconscious was interrupted when he heard the soft sound of hoofsteps on grass. He forced his eyes to remain open, although glassed and unfocused.

Soon enough the face of Twilight came into view and stared down at him with concern, but behind it Karon saw the same weariness and tired despair he guessed she must be seeing in his eyes.

“Are you alright?” she asked, knowing how meaningless the question was but asking anyway.

“No, no I'm not. But I'll live.”

He closed his eyes for a brief minute and gathered what little strength he had left, then sat up and looked around. They were in the grasslands, and in the distance Karon could see Cloudsdale suspended in the sky. Perhaps it was just his imagination, but there seemed to be something missing from it.

“What happened?” he asked without taking his eyes off the city.

“I teleported us, Dusk Keeper should be around here somewhere.”

“You managed to get him too?” Karon asked and felt a little better by the news.

“Yes, I only need to see something to teleport it, and I could see Dusk Keeper all the way...down.”

The silence that pervaded the area forced itself upon them, forced them to relive the horrifying sensation of falling towards their deaths surrounded by the screams of the doomed pegasi.

“Karon...”

“I was desperate, I had no choice!”

What had meant to be a determined and strong tone of voice instead came out pleading.

“It was wrong.”

“They were all doomed from the start. They had to die one way or another. Celestia can't all turn them to stone and no prison could hold an entire army working together.”

“You didn't even try to negotiate, you just killed your way forward and when we had a chance to speak to one of their leaders you just insulted him. And then you killed everypony! Silver Prance, Dust Wind, Shield Trainer, all of them died because your plan was just to kill everypony that got in your way!”

“Who's Silver Pr-”

“Those were their names! The guards YOU were supposed to order and lead, and you let them die because you didn't care about them enough to try and find another way. Didn't you even learn their names!? Were they just a group of nameless guards to you!?”

Karon didn't answer, something harsh and cold was wrapping it's claws around his insides. It was exactly what they had been to him, a group of guards, nothing more. There to serve as tools to achieve a goal. But when Twilight said it, there was something in her voice, something that struck him deeply as wrong. He didn't know what to make of it. He was just too tired, of everything.

“We should get going. The party is tonight, and we need to report all of this to Celestia.”

Twilight seemed stunned by what he had just said, enough to throw her off her balance and forget about her anger.

“I thought you said we were supposed to handle this on our own? That the princess trusted you to take care of this.”

“She was wrong. This was our one chance at understanding More-than Tardy's plans. At finding what he is going to do and how...and I failed. Whatever information that existed within that base is gone now.”

“But we can't just give up!”

“No, but I think it's time to stop pretending we're good enough to beat him. More-than Tardy knew we were coming. He sacrificed several of his ponies just to drag us in and let his army kill us off...”

“Using them as if they were nothing but tools to achieve a goal.”

“...He's just better than us Twilight.”

“Perhaps that's not a bad thing,” she said and tried to smile, placing her hoof on his shoulder.

That small pressure, that small gesture, gave him enough strength to stand up. He cast out his senses and tried to pick up on all that he could, every astral tremor, every mental trail. After a few minutes he could feel an anomaly to south and headed towards it, Twilight following behind in silence.

It did not take long before they found Dusk Keeper unconscious, he seemed to have taken a pretty bad fall. But it would have been far worse without Twilight's teleporting intervention. He woke up fast but discovered his left back hoof was broken. Both Twilight and Karon had to help in order for him to be able to walk.

By Twilight's suggestion they continued further south, where there was supposed to be a road ponies traveled on towards Canterlot. They journeyed in silence, the only sound they made was the occasional grunt of strain from Dusk Keeper. By the time they had reached the well worn dirt road Twilight had been referring to, the sun had risen and its rays reflected off the sweat covering them.

They sat down next to it and simply waited for anypony to come by, thankfully they didn't have to wait for more than half an hours before a cart rolled over a nearby hill and came across them. The stallion drawing it was transporting hay of all things and after a quick and very vague explanation from Twilight he offered them to ride in the back.

The hay was soft and comfortable, and coupled with the heat of the sun and weariness from the last few hours of stress it did not take long before all three of them fell asleep. Before they did though, a realization came to Karon's muddled mind and he swore quietly.

“Damn...”

“What?” Twilight asked in the same sleepy voice.

“I lost my hat,” he grumbled in response and let those be his last words before sleep took.

                               **********************************************

The sight before him was beyond anything anypony could have ever imagined. All of Cloudsdale had been torn from their peaceful dreams by the sounds of terrified screams. The city guard had mobilized faster than they ever had in the city's entire history, without any idea what had happened.

And had somepony told them what would be waiting for them down on the ground they would never have believed it. It was just too horrible to imagine, that below the beautiful pegasi city was the corpses of over 200 dead ponies.

After the first investigations from the pegasi, that had managed to quell the need to throw up anyway, they had all come to the conclusion that it had been some kind of freak magic accident. A part of the city's internal construct was missing and all signs pointed to magic having been at play. Perhaps some ponies would have considered the possibility of it being intentional, but such an act would be so heinous that they rather didn't.

After all, the part of the city that was missing was supposed to be nothing but underlying structure. And of all of the hundreds of dead pegasi, not a single one of Cloudsdale's registered populace was missing. These kind of things would ordinarily have raised questions, but not this time. Because it didn't matter if the questions went unanswered. It was for the better if that horrible night remain a forgotten and distant mystery never again mentioned.

But not everything about that night was a total tragedy, for a unicorn who's job it was to bury the dead came upon something amongst the corpses. A red hat, wide brimmed and with a stooping cone in the middle.

The pony, whose name was Tender Digger, was a practical one, and even while standing in a field of death he did not lose his optimism. Determined to see a tiny bit of brightness in this event, he picked up the hat and placed it on his head, grinning softly to himself and going back to his work whistling. After digging the one hundredth and fortieth one grave that day, he felt a little more joyful than earlier.

After all, he was now more than halfway done.

                           ****************************************************

Falling...falling...The wind rushed by hard and down below the waiting ground glared at him hungrily. Around him the voices of hundreds of ponies wailed in terror and despair, watching as death was coming closer and closer.

The wails cut into him deep, and both his ears and heart were bleeding. But the blood did not flow from him, instead it gathered and oozed out from his pores to cover his hands. Slick with red and glistening in the moons harsh light.

His eyes sought Twilight, the one that could save him. He swam through the air, through the sea of fear and screams until he reached her.

Her horn glowed with a purple light, defying the darkness and terror all around her with hope of salvation. Their eyes met and she nodded in determination, her will stronger than any fear or guilt could hope to overcome.

He felt how her light enveloped him, cradled him. The light that would take him away and save him.

But something was stopping him. All around him the screams of fear had turned to rage. Accusing eyes fixed upon him and their hooves grasped him. Dragging him away from the saving light shining out from Twilight.

He stretched his hands out to her, tried to grab the light and pull himself to it. But his hands were too slick, the blood on them making him slip. Tears poured down his cheeks, the ponies were keeping him away from the light. The blood was keeping him away from the light.

He cried out to her, begging her to save him. But she could only look on him with sadness, the hope he had seen in her eyes was gone. Her lips moved as if she were saying something, and with a final word he could not hear, her light disappeared and she with it, leaving him.

He screamed and screamed and clawed with his bloodied hands. But hundreds of hooves held him firm, pulling him down towards his grave. He would join them, he would die with them. He would be lost without hope with them.

And as the greedy earth welcomed them as food Karon screamed one last time.

“Twilight! Please DON'T LEAVE ME!”

“Karon! Karon! I'm here, calm down.”

A bright light shone into his eyes, and in front of him Twilight stared at him with concern and...sadness. He lunged forward and held her, clinging to her as hard as he could. His heart raced madly and every breath shuddered with the tears he fought to hold back.

It took him several seconds to understand where he was, that he was not falling to his death, and that Twilight was not abandoning him. He was just sitting in a pile of hay in the back of a rolling cart, and both Dusk and Twilight were still with him.

He swallowed and took one last shuddering breath before he released her. Refusing to meet her questioning stare, he fell back and stared up at the sky with squinting eyes. Judging from the sun it was late in the day. Karon had covered himself in hay to avoid most of the sun's rays but the heat was nothing he could do anything about. And if the position of the sun had not been enough to tell him what time it was, then the robe drenched in sweat would have.

“Is something wrong?” Dusk asked him in a distant tone. Karon put his hand on his chest and felt his heart rate decrease steadily, drawing comfort from the solid beating.

“No, just...a bad dream,” he finally responded.

Dusk didn't ask any further, and Twilight was uncharacteristically silent. Karon felt far too warm, but there was little he could do to ease his discomfort until they reached Canterlot. He was afraid of going back to sleep, afraid that he might dream again.

Dreams are a mage's friend. They can reveal much, if one knows how to read them. But this one was not one Karon was willing to dig any deeper into than he already had. Instead he focused his attention on more immediate things, like how parched and worn his throat was.

“Twilight do you have any way of conjuring water?”

“No, I'm sorry we will have to wait until we get to Canterlot before that.”

Sighing in defeat Karon did his best to accept the situation, and his mind began drifting into possible ways More-than Tardy could use the party to his advantage.

“It's a nobles party, a lot of powerful and important ponies will be there.”

“So what do you think? Maybe killing all of them while gathered in the same place?”

“No, that isn't his style. It would be too crude and unsophisticated.”

“Maybe he already has a lot of them in his pocket and he will announce his intent on taking the throne.”

“Maybe. It would be kinda stylish to just walk in and tell the princesses to get out because he's the new boss. But they would just crush him where he stood if he tried that.”

“So it doesn't really matter what he is planning. The core of the problem is how he will gain enough power to challenge two alicorns. He could gather hundreds of soldiers and it still wouldn't matter until he neutralize the princesses.”

“And we don't know how he is planning that.”

“No we don't...we need to tell Celestia about this. Maybe if both she, Luna, Twilight and I band together we might be too powerful to overcome.”

“More-than Tardy will have considered that option. He is not going to make his move unless he is certain he can succeed.”

“We are in trouble it seems.”

“Yes, yes we are.”

The rest of the journey to Canterlot was spent in restless silence and fidgety movement. Every passing minute was a reminder that they had yet to come up with a real plan for dealing with the professor. Hope was in short stock, and judging by Twilight's avoidance in meeting Karon's gaze and Dusk's staring off into the distance, so was morale.

Grassland made way for rock and mountain, dry hot wind turned to soothing mountain breezes, and soon they had reached Canterlot. They thanked the pony for allowing them to ride along and walked through the stone streets of the capital towards the castle. Around them ponies of all forms and colors could be seen talking in hushed tones and whispers.

The atmosphere was tense and the mood subdued. Either the news of what had happened in Cloudsdale had reached their ears or something else was going on. But then again, if the professor was making his move tonight then it was likely he had worked to spread fear and worry into the populace.

A city already prepared to fall into chaos would fall easily, and in their fear they would bow to a new leader if it meant regaining their peace.

They continued on their way to the castle, and when they arrived at the gates they found double the usual guard. They were allowed entrance without difficulty but it was not a good sign. Everypony could smell trouble brewing, and More-than tardy would use that against them.

Dusk excused himself and headed towards captain Nightchill's chamber, Karon did not envy him. The operation had been a fiasco in every way, and the captain had lost almost all of his guards. Guards Karon had promised to return safely.

Another lie told.

While Dusk Keeper went to give that depressing news, Karon and Twilight went over to her room. Rarity and the others had been asleep long enough, and they would all be needed if More-than Tardy was making his move tonight.

Karon opened the door and entered with Twilight close behind. Inside, Feather Touch spun around when she heard the door open and smiled when she saw who it was. She hurried over to Karon and looked up at him with jubilant eyes, however she lost most of her spark when she noticed her smile was not returned.

“What's the matter?” she asked worried.

“How about everything,” Twilight replied and walked over to her pile of pillows, which she promptly fell down on. Feather only looked more confused at the response. Karon walked over to Rarity's bed and sat down and then filled Feather in on what had happened. To her credit, she didn't look at Karon like he was a mass murderer when he was finished.

“H-hundreds of ponies...dead?”

“Yes, and nothing to show for it.”

“That's not true, we defeated most of the professors evil ponies. I just wish there had been another way,” Twilight noted.

“Yeah, but that hardly matters. He's a manipulator. He can get new minions to do his dirty work. Without any idea on how he is supposed to gather a ridiculous amount of magical power we're blind.”

“There has to be a way for us to find out what he is up to,” Twilight said, refusing to give in to despair.

“Feather, have you found out anything that could help us?” Karon asked, seizing the slender hope.

“I'm sorry sir, we managed to find two more houses with spies. But I don't think anyone of them is a place where that kind of information would be available.”

“Are you sure?”

“Almost positive. All the servants that have watched them say they only spy on the nobles.”

“Then Celestia is our only hope.”

“What do you mean sir?” Feather asked, perplexed at the comment.

“Celestia, you know. Big, powerful, radiant alicorn princess of Equestria?”

“I know who the princess is sir. But she isn't in Canterlot if you meant you wished to see her.”

Karon blinked rapidly trying to process what he had just heard, across the room Twilight was doing the same.

“Wha...What is that supposed to mean?”

“The princesses, both of them left this morning for Phillydelphia.”

“Why!?”

“I'm not sure sir, I think they were called down there by a relative of theirs. Princess Mi Amore Cadenza.”

“What, there's three of them!?”

“Yes sir. There are several alicorns, all of them have royal titles. But only princess Luna and princess Celestia actually rule Equestria.”

“Fine whatever, but why would they leave now? Celestia knows the professor is planning something for tonight.”

“I don't make guesses about why the princesses do what they do sir.”

“That's it then, we're screwed,” he said and threw up his arms in the air.

“I'm sure you'll think of something sir,” Feather said with absolute confidence.

“No, not this time,” he said and buried his face in his hands.

“You can't mean that,” Twilight said quietly from across the room.

“Yes I can. More-than Tardy is better than me, and now he knows it. My only hope was in fooling him and forcing him to make a mistake. Instead, he tricked us into a trap and now...we are left fumbling in the dark.”

“We can still beat him, we have to. We can't just let him do this to the princesses, to Equestria!”

“How Twilight? If you have a plan please tell me.”

“I...I don't yet. But together we can do this, all of us.”

“That could be called denial.”

“So what do you suggest then?” she responded angrily. “Just give up and let this happen? Do you even care about how many ponies would get hurt? Do you even care about any of us or was all of that lies as well!?”

He remained quiet at first, considering her words and what they were facing. In truth he could leave them, he already had once. But he didn't want to, he wouldn't.

“No, it wasn't.” he rose up from the bed and went over to Twilight, looking at him with approval.

“Is it time to wake them up?” she asked hopefully.

“Yes, we have preparations to make.”

                  *************************************************************

“I am NEVER going to forgive you for this Karon!” Rarity huffed indignantly and looked over herself once more. “Putting us into a magic sleep is one thing, but leaving us with only hours to find dresses for a nobleponies party...that is beyond redemption!”

“Yet you somehow managed,” Karon murmured and stroked his newly washed robe absentmindedly.

When the six ponies had woken up from their long sleep they had been very disoriented. And when that passed they had been very angry, understandably all things considered. But Twilight had filled them all in on what was going on. And after they had persuaded Rainbow not to try and 'kick Karon's flank until he breaks and spill out candy', and told Pinkie such a thing was impossible, they had begun formulating a plan.

Well most of them anyway. Rarity had entered some kind of panic mode at the news they would all be attending a noble's party with nothing to wear. She had disappeared babbling wildly about matching colors then re-appeared four hours later with seven dresses for all of the ponies.

How did she sew seven dresses in four hours? She's Rarity, that's how.

After a lot of debating between them the ponies and human had finally settled on a plan that just might work. And it played to Karon's strengths and the fact More-than Tardy was unaware of what abilities he possessed.

He was supposed to mingle with as many of the noble ponies as he could, making sure he was seen doing it. He would later confront More-than Tardy and say that he knew about his plan, that he had gained information from Steel Runner before killing him and had read the rest from the minds of everypony gathered there.

It was a long shot, but if Karon could make the professor doubt his own plans then he would begin to mentally go over them. And then Karon would be able to read them. Problem was that More-than Tardy knew about Karon's mind reading abilities and would be disciplining his mind as best he could. Karon would need to do perfect in order to shake More-than Tardy up.

The rest of them would be placed around the grand ballroom the party was hosted in, prepared to act towards any pony that could turn out to be the professors ally. Feather Touch would be there with many servants and had promised they would help on Karon's command.

The problem was the guards.

After the news of what had happened in Cloudsdale had reached Nightchills ears, and after Dusk Keepers report, he had been furious. He flat out refused to give Karon any more support from his guards, but he had agreed to station more of his guards around the castle's entry points when Twilight insisted.

He might not trust Karon anymore, but Twilight was still Celestia's personal protege.

And now all eight of them stood in a corridor outside the ballroom, listening to the chattering voices of the nobles making smalltalk. The tension hung thick in the air and all of them felt nervous in one way or another, even Rainbow Dash though she hid it well. It was a dangerous night, and a lot would depend on them.

“Do you think we're ready?” Karon asked Twilight and rubbed the sleeve of his robe once more nervously.

“I don't think there is anything more we can do to prepare now. Since my brother is away with the princesses and the entire solar guard, the castle is only at half force. If More-than Tardy has his own soldiers ready somewhere close by it could get dangerous very quickly.”

“You know, telling me your brother was the captain of the solar guard earlier might have helped.”

“I'm sorry, I've just been a bit distracted lately,” she grumbled as an excuse.

“That's okay Twilight, I forgive you,” Pinkie interjected helpfully.

They all chuckled a little and the tension was lessened by a fraction. What would happen tonight might be bad if things didn't go as planned, by there was nothing more they could do now.

“Alright then...” Karon said and looked at all of them. “Ready to party?”

A chorus of agreements reached his ears, and they all fell in behind him as they walked into the ballroom together. Inside the roof was barely visible behind all the lanterns and light that shone down with golden luminescence. Tables were placed strategically to allow movement but still so that no pony needed to go far to get refreshments. Lots of blue, red and golden colors could be seen in everything from the drapes to the carpets...and the ponies.

And there were many of them. Pegasi, unicorns and earth ponies dressed in all forms of clothes imaginable, in all colors imaginable. There could even be seen a few gryphons amidst the sea of pony. There were no herald of any kind, thank god, and the group managed to enter and melt into the crowd without making too much of a scene.

That is, the ponies managed to. Karon was one of a kind in the room after all and as soon as he entered most eyes fell upon him. The idle chatter around the room changed in tone and turned to whispers as rumors and gossip was spread. Karon didn't know what exactly public opinion on him was, but it would be an easy topic to start up with the ponies inside. He wanted to be seen talking with as many of them as could be.

He hadn't seen More-than Tardy yet, but he was there, no doubt watching him. Which was good, the professor had lured him into a trap with a small army waiting to take him. And now instead Karon walked into the party unharmed as if nothing special had happened, as if he hadn't laid waste to the great majority of More-than Tardy's forces.

“I hope he feels a bit nervous now.”

“I killed over 200 of his pegasi, and he doesn't know I used a ton of sun crystals to do it. So yes, he will be feeling nervous.”

“Then let's mingle.”

He put a smile on his face and dived into the great arena that is political small talk. There was no lack of ponies more than willing to have a conversation with the new court wizard, and after the first few polite exchanges, a few facts became apparent.

One, was that his public image was something akin to a strange god suddenly deciding to play mortal, and two, was that he really, really hated nobles. The ponies all acted with the self assured confidence of those believing the world owes them everything just by being born. But he wasn't doing this for his own entertainment, so he swallowed the sour taste in his mouth and kept the forced smile on his lips.

Finally reaching his limits with the current sycophant he begged pardon, the table with refreshments suddenly beckoned to him undeniable. The ponies gave him a respectful distance, while still keeping close enough to pounce on him, should he give any sign he was ready to resume conversation.

On the table where various snacks and food, but what really caught Karon's eyes was the bottle of Applejack's Daniels. He laughed quietly under his breath at the sight and poured himself a glass, a wine glass of all things, and sipped contently. It was right then, when he was starting to feel a little more optimistic of the night, that his peace was shattered by the excited voice of yet another pony.

“Oh by Celestia! Court wizard it is a pleasure to finally meet you in person. Allow me to introduce myself, I'm Rose Petal.”

“Rose Petal...Why does that name sound familiar?” Karon asked quietly to himself, though obviously the unicorn had overheard for she added.

“You have met my mother, a member of the consortium named Emerald.”

“Oh yes, now I remember.”

“The one with all the social connections, the one who was just dying to introduce us to her daughter Rose Petal.”

“If she tries to marry her daughter off to me, to gain social standing I'm not gonna be happy.”

“I'm so glad you remember her! She has been going on about you for quite some time now, you've impressed her.”

“How flattering...”

“Oh stop it, it's not that bad,” she said and playfully punched him with her hoof.

Karon blinked in surprise and he couldn't quite suppress his doubting stare.

“Is she flirting with me?”

“I actually think she is.”

“Great, just what I needed.”

“You know, had this happened a week ago, you would have been flirting back furiously.”

“Things change.”

“If you wouldn't mind I have a friend I would like for you to meet. She should be here tonight somewhere.”

“Sigh, and who is this friend?”

“Her name is Twilight Sparkle, and she is princess Celestia's personal protege!”

Karon's mouth dropped open for a second before he managed to close it.

“You're a friend of Twilight's?”

Now it was Rose Petal's turn to look surprised.

“What!? YOU know Twilight.”

“Yes, I was living with her for almost six months before coming to Canterlot.”

“You...wha...how...Why didn't she mention you in any of her letters!?”

“We were trying to keep things a bit discreet.”

“We'll when I see her, I will have a thing or two to say,” she muttered darkly.

Karon smiled at the thought and his mood brightened a little.

“So, how do you know Twilight?”

“Oh we meet at princess Celestia's school for gifted unicorns. We grew up together and studied a lot, she more than me to be honest. We didn't see each other as much after the princess named her her protege, and I became very busy myself when Minty Frost named me his.”

“You're Minty Frost's protege?” Karon asked curiously.

“Oh yes, and it is the best thing that has ever happened to me, well maybe after meeting you of course,” she said and fluttered her eyelashes.

“Subtle.”

“What exactly do you study or do with him then?”

“We'll, right now I am helping him go through the really old archives and transfer the text to new books. Some of the tomes are so old they are falling apart and we can't afford to lose something so valuable.”

“I can understand that. Have you come across something interesting in the process?”

It was actually a rather entrancing topic to discuss, he was still a mage after all, and Karon found himself enjoying the conversation.

“More than there is time to tell, some of it was so interesting that it attracted the attention of other consortium members.”

“Oh?”

“Yes, professor More-than Tardy was very interested in knowing what we've found.”

That revelation made Karon strain his ears a little extra.

“And what did he find so interesting then?”

“Well...” she said and looked around conspiratorially with excessive amounts of drama. The motion reminded him of Rarity, and a small twinge went through his heart.

“...He was rather adamant in finding a tome titled 'The convergence of sun and moon'. But I told him that only Minty himself was allowed to read the section that one was in. I was only allowed to catalog the title and sort it.”

“So you don't know what it's about?”

“No. Only Minty Frost himself knows that, and maybe More-than Tardy. He really wanted to read it.”

“We got a lead!”

“Rose do you know where Minty is tonight?”

“Why yes, he should be around here somewhere...but wouldn't you rather stay with me and talk some more.”

She actually pouted.

“I would, but I need to speak with him about something rather urgently I just remembered.”

“Oh okay, but you should really come see me later.”

“I will.”

“Hopefully not.”

With a gracious nod he excused himself from her and looked around the room. His eyes darted from pony to pony, trying to spot the telltale white and blue of the old stallion. His eyes came to rest on somepony that could be him, his back was turned and he was in conversation with Rarity of all ponies.

Karon made his way forward, maneuvering as quickly as he could between the clusters of nobles, while trying to look calm and collected. It was really hard. Rarity saw him coming and interrupted her conversation with the stallion, who then turned around and revealed himself to be Minty.

Sighing in relief Karon approached the pair, and before Rarity could open her mouth he spoke.

“Minty Frost, a pleasure to see you. I was wondering if you could answer a question I have?”

The wizened stallion looked a little taken aback with Karon's straightforwardness, but nodded after recovering.

“What do you wish to know.”

“What knowledge does the tome called 'The convergence of sun and moon' contain?”

Minty was entirely unprepared for the question and only stared in shock at Karon, who was close to tapping his foot with impatience.

“Well?” he asked.

“Why I...That is knowledge only I am supposed to have an-”

“What. Does it. Contain?” Karon emphasized carefully.

The stallion seemed to be wrestling with himself for a moment, but then he gave in and sighed.

“Since you are the court wizard, I guess it is allowed for me to tell you. The book contains the instructions on how to use the talisman of the stars. With it, any unicorn could align themselves with the powers of the sun and moon, and would thereby gain enormous power. The last one to use it was the royal sisters, and ever since they took on the task of raising the sun and moon themselves they have kept the knowledge of the talisman hidden.”

“Does anypony else know about this?” Karon asked, eyes alight with amber fire.

“Well...I...You see...About for months ago Professor More-than Tardy approached me asking about it. I told him only I, as keeper of the archives, was allowed access to the restricted tomes. He accepted my apologies but two days after...the tome disappeared. I'm not saying that HE is responsible but...”

“It was the professor.”

“And because of that he knows how to gain enough power to challenge Tia and Lunatic.”

“Minty, where is the talisman located?”

“Beneath the castle, in the forgotten crystal caves. There is a carved out chamber where it is kept safe under countless protective spells.”

“How does one access the caves?”

“Now listen I can't just...”

“You listen! It is my damn job to keep things like that from falling into the wrong hooves, and unless I do something that is exactly what will happen tonight. So tell me, NOW!”

The stallions shoulders sank in defeat, he knew he had failed in his duties by letting that tome get stolen.

“In the archives, at the bottom level there is a locked iron door. That leads down to the cave, there is a path that is supposed to lead directly to the chamber with the talisman.”

“Thank you Minty,” Karon finished and motioned Rarity to follow him somewhere private. They ducked out into a corridor and began whispering excitedly.

“He's after the talisman.”

“It looks that way, but how will this help us for tonight. We still don't know how he plans his dastardly coup,” Rarity responded.

“No, but I will when I read his mind. This will be enough to make him so afraid he will lose control of his thoughts, I know it.”

“That is excellent. How did you ever figure out about the existence of the talisman?”

“A mare named Rose Petal helped me.”

“Ah...her.”

“Am I missing something?”

“Of course not, I just saw you talking and assumed it was about...something else.”

“Rarity, it was nothing like that.”

“So you say,” she replied and looked away.

“I'm sorry I hurt you.”

“Well I'm sorry you lied and told me you loved me,” she said, her voice tense and strained.

“That wasn't a lie,” he responded quietly.

They stood in silence after that, the weight of their history together pressing down on them.

“I apologize, I am not in the best of mood this evening,” Rarity finally said and broke the silence.

“I am sorry if I-”

“Oh no, it has nothing to do with you. I had the misfortune to run into prince Blueblood again...he didn't even recognize me.”

“Prince Blueblood?”

“He's...somepony I once thought I was in love with. But he turned out to be a complete ruffian and lacking in any and all manners.”

“Something bad happened?”

“Yes, I spent an entire evening trying to garner his attention but he treated me like I was nothing but a servant, and not a lady.”

“So you're telling me somepony that hurt your feelings is here tonight? And doesn't even remember you?”

“It certainly appears so,” she said, her voice carrying a chill that could rival a glacier.

“Interesting...”

“Rar, please gather the rest of the group. I will make my approach on More-than Tardy, I need every pony ready to act fast after I learn the details of his plan.”

“Of course Karon, I will make sure we are all prepared,” she said, her face drawn with determination.

“Thank you,” he replied and put his hand on her head, the way he once used to do when he jokingly threatened to ruin her mane. Then he turned around and walked back inside the ballroom, eyes searching for More-than Tardy.

But it was the professor that found him.

“Enjoying the evening, court wizard?” a cultured voice asked from behind him.

Karon turned around and faced the impassive stare of the would-be usurper.

“I am certainly,” Karon answered and carefully formed a link to the professors mental aura. It felt like sticking a hand down a dark barrel full of dead maggots and writhing snakes. But instead of a hand it was his mind.

“I heard that there was an unfortunate magical accident of some kind in Cloudsdale last night. As court wizard I trust you have investigated?”

“Indeed I have, but it turned out to be nothing special. Just a failure in somepony's planning it turns out, a tragic accident to be sure.”

The professors mind flared for a second, inky blackness and oily shadows danced as if on fire. But it settled down within a heartbeat as the professor reasserted his control over his own mind. He was too focused, he was deliberately keeping himself from thinking about compromising facts about his plans.

Karon needed to unbalance him.

“But let us not talk of such terrible events, it is a party after all. And as I said, I have enjoyed it so far. Especially the chance to talk with so many of the nobles, now that they are gathered all in one place.”

The professors eyes narrowed by the absolute slightest degree.

“And there are so many topics one could discuss. Not just politics but topics closer to my heart, for example, that of magic. Maybe ancient artifacts to be precise.”

The stallions mind stirred restlessly and Karon saw how his jaw clenched. But it was not enough yet.

“Surely such things would be better suited for an evening with the consortium. Not a party with the nobles.”

“Well maybe you're right, I should settle down and enjoy the small talk. I have already learned so much tonight. For instance, did you know there is an incredible powerful artifact kept in the crystal caves below the castle. It's called, 'the talisman of the stars'. I thought about going to see it later tonight.”

The unicorns mind exploded with writhing tentacles, thoughts and feelings warred in the black landscape of his mind. And Karon drank in the chaos and suddenly understood everything the professor was planning.

He took a step back and looked down on the unicorn, his face still impassive, but there was a black fire burning in his eyes.  A tension thick enough to cut through placed itself over the two adversaries, and it was the professor that broke it first.

“I hope I will see you later tonight. For now I have suddenly urgent business to attend, you know where to find me,” he said in his usual voice, seemingly in control despite everything.

Karon watched him melt into the crowd effortlessly and disappear out of sight. He would be heading straight for the talisman, but Karon couldn't follow yet. He turned his head and scanned the room for any sign of his friends, and found them in plain view around one of the tables. All of them were watching him expectantly.

He hurried over and spoke quickly.

“We have a problem.”

“Could you perhaps elaborate?” Twilight asked carefully.

“The professor is heading down towards the talisman at this moment, Rarity told you about it right?”

They nodded in response and Karon continued.

“But we can't go after him yet. He is planning to retrieve and activate it, and after he has gained its power he means to walk in here again and announce his take over to all the nobles. His spies have been busy gathering information on who everypony cares about and his soldiers have taken all of them hostage. If anypony objects More-than Tardy will threaten to kill that ponies loved ones, they will give into him after that.”

“Oh no, we have to help them,” Fluttershy said, her voice full of concern for the captives.

“We need all the nobles out of here as well. Even if we free the hostages More-than Tardy will be powerful enough to just bash the nobles into submission.”

“We can't just interrupt the party. If we told them the truth they would panic and they won't leave just because we ask them to,” Twilight said.

“They HAVE to get out of here. They are too easy a target gathered all like this.”

“We'll maybe if you...” Twilight said while grimacing as if she were biting into something very sour.

“If I what?” Karon asked with an annoyed wave of his hand.

“Well they are all nobles and have very high standard and refined tastes. They will leave if they feel they have been offended in some way...” she answered slowly.

Karon stared at her with his mouth hanging open.

“Are you...Twilight are you asking me to insult the entire Canterlot elite, to the point they will storm out of here?”

She groaned in what looked to be agony but nodded in affirmative.

“So you wish to release the Kraken?”

“What?”

“I mean, you want to release the Karon?”

Seven ponies all glared at him, we'll six, Pinkie looked to be vaguely approving of his silliness.

“You have to say it,” he continued.

“No,” Twilight deadpanned.

“Say it or I won't do it,” Karon almost sang in response, enjoying the moment immensely.

Twilight sighed and rubbed a hoof to her forehead and mumbled something.

“Louder,” Karon said.

“Fine, release the Karon.” She snapped at him before falling into an impressive glare.

Karon grinned in response, and despite that the fate of Equestria might be resting on them right now, he felt giddy.

“Pinkie?” he almost purred.

“Yes Karon?” she asked in return and tilted her head.

“Come, we have plans to make.”

“We do?” she questioned in her usual chirpy voice.

“Yes. Because tonight, you and I, are going to turn this into the party of the century.”

Next Chapter: Chapter 30: Party of the century (part 2) Estimated time remaining: 12 Hours, 45 Minutes