Twilight and Celestia were in Celestia's private chambers. After they had left the royal library, they ascended one of the palace towers in silence. They first went to Luna's room, but when they found the door locked, they decided to leave her alone. Afterwards, Twilight told Celestia about what Barthandelus told her, minus the bit she promised not to tell. Something about his face when he made her promised... scared her. It was a look of desperation and madness. She thought "This is what a madpony looks like". The moment had passed quickly enough, but she would never forget that look, that silent plea in his blind-not-blind eyes.

Celestia sighed deeply. Again. The worry was heavy on her face. "I know he does his best to deny it," she said, "But I know that what happened back then still hurts him. He's been carrying that weight on his shoulders for decades, refusing to talk about it to anypony. If he keeps up like this..." a brief look of fear crossed her face, so quickly Twilight almost didn't notice it.

"Princess," Twilight asked, "Just what happened that made him like this?"

Celestia was quite for the longest time, and Twilight didn't think she would tell. She was about to ask another question when Celestia finally spoke up.

"I assume your familiar with Doctor Whooves?"

Puzzled, Twilight nodded.

"Then you know that Barthandelus and him share the hourglass on their cutie marks. The hourglass represents the flow of time. It marks him as a fellow Keeper of History."

"Around a hundred years ago, Barthandelus established the Order of the Keepers. Their job was to provide first-hoof accounts of happenings around Equestria. To that end, he gave them heightened awareness, and increased perception of their surroundings. Later, he would also gift them with a small bit of magic, allowing them to 'Replay' special events from different perspectives. But, he told each of them to never reveal their identities to anypony without an hourglass cutie mark, and to never interfere with events. They were to be merely observers."

"One Keeper, above all others, showed great talent. He was able to travel great distances in order to record events in the most remote destinations, and had an intuitive sense of what was about to happen, and where. His accounts were incredibly well-detailed, and he was a favored Keeper."

"Barthandelus had been paying special attention to him, and thought to make him his personal pupil. As such, the Keeper was allowed access to Barhtandelus's private records. That would ultimately be his downfall."

"The Keeper was interested in all the wrong records. He learned many dark secrets and forbidden incantations, and with them, thought he had the power to steal Barthandelus's power. They meet at midnight the next day."

"In the end, Barthandelus had to kill his prized pupil. He first drained him of his magic, then, to make sure he couldn't rise again, burned the shell that remained. It hurt him more than any physical pain ever could. For days, he refused to see anyone."

"When he finally came back out, he had... changed. He used to be so happy all the time. Quick to a joke, full of laughter. You couldn't be near him and not be happy. Now he buries himself in his work, trying to pretend that nothing ever happened. And he's so paranoid. Doesn't go anywhere where he might be seen, never goes to sleep without setting up a complex net of alarm and shielding spells. I don't think he even trusts himself anymore."

It was nearly time for Celestia and Luna to lower the sun and raise the moon. With a sigh, Celestia got up, beckoning for Twilight to follow her. As she learned more and more about Barthandelus, she kept feeling sorry for him. Having to kill his prized pupil, possibly his best friend, no wonder he was the way he is. She didn't know if she could keep on going if she had to kill any of her friends. The mere thought of it tore at her heart.

The two of them knocked on Luna's door. After a moment, she came out, a few tears still on her face. They went to the top of the tower, where they did their duties. Too tired and emotionally drained to talk anymore on the matter, they each went to bed.

And Twilight dreamed.

"Give it up, Barthandelus! I know what you did!"

"It was vital that I did what I did! Can't you see that!"

The wind was howling with suppressed energy. Two ponies, one that goes by the name Barthandelus, the other with a coat of midnight black, a mane of turquoise blue, and an empty hourglass for a cutie mark. His eyes were a startling red, and they were currently narrowed with hatred at the alicorn. The rooftop they were on was bare, save for a few dead leaves being blown about.

"You yourself said that we are to never intervene! No matter how dire, we can never act! And then you go against your own oath like this! Their blood is on your hooves!"

"Better a village then the entire land! I did what I had to do!"

"How can you say that!" They had to shout to be heard over the wind. "They were just a farming village! No one there even knew magic!"

"I told you! They were about to find something that must stay hidden!"

"Lies! I went there, and I found nothing but signs of your cruelness!"

"Did you think I would just leave something like that there!? Of course I destroyed it!"

"I know the truth! There was never anything there! You just did away with them so you could remain here, hiding from your duties while the rest of Equestria suffers!"

"YOU WOULD DARE ACCUSE ME OF COWARDICE? ME, WHO HAD WALKED THIS LAND BEFORE YOUR KIND EVEN DARED TO LEAVE THEIR CAVES, FOR FEAR OF THE NIGHT!?"

Barthandelus was clearly enraged, but to stallion refused to back down.

"You killed them all! Every last one of them! They had done nothing wrong, and you did away with them like they were little more then insects!"

"How many times must I tell you, boy! Your job was to look past the cover, to find what was hidden beneath the surface! Open your eyes! If they had been allowed to unleash that monstrosity, it could have meant a thousand years of suffering! Did you think I enjoyed having to kill all of them? Do you think those screams of terror don't haunt me to this day? Why would I kill every last stallion, mare, and filly unless I had no choice in the matter?"

"You could have simply taken the artifact and left them alone!"

"They had been tainted! Any one of them could have carried his mark! Even a single pony could have been enough to bring him back!"

"They had done nothing wrong for years! How do you explain that?"

"You think it could have just cursed them all willy-billy? It had been buried for thousands of years! It needed sustenance! It needed blood!"

The stallion sighed. "I can see that you will remain unrepentant! Very well! For everyone you killed, I will destroy you!"

"Don't be brash, lad! Give me time, and I swear I'll make amends!"

"SILENCE, FIEND! NOW, DIE!"

The stallion quickly gathered his energy, and unleashed it in a truly massive fireball. It would have been enough to kill any pony, but Barthandelus was only slightly singed. A cold rage filled his eyes, and his horn began to glow with a hellish red energy. His eyes were quickly hidden behind a veil of pure magical energy, the alicorn's entire being filled with pure energy.

With a stomp of his hoof, Barthandelus sent pure white fire towards the stallion, even as the wind buffeted him and lightning struck him repeatedly in quick succession. As soon as the flame hit, a howl of pure pain and terror escaped from the lesser pony. But the Immortal wasn't finished. His horn kept glowing brighter and brighter still.

With a screech of pure rage, he levitated a humongous chunk of earth towards the still-engulfed form of the stallion. It hit him with enough speed and force to make a sonic boom. Upon impact, it detonated with enormous amounts of magical energy, quickly spreading to engulf the Immortal, the building, and the entire mountainside.

When it finally cleared, Barthandelus was nearly unconscious. Covered in head to toe with horrible-looking burn marks, he somehow managed to get to his feet. Limping, he slowly made his way to where the stallion once stood. In his place were ashes.

"Why!?" he said weakly. "Why did I have to do this? Why did I have to do this to him, my prized student, my heir?" He sobbed for a bit, then cried out "WHAT IS HAPPENING TO ME!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!" Next Chapter: Chapter 7: Meeting with Friends Estimated time remaining: 38 Minutes