Theá continued to watch with some interest as the stallion worked, extracting the smaller pieces of obsidian soaked in raw magic and sewing together the larger wounds while patching up the smaller ones with bandages or other materials. He was good at what he did, she couldn't deny that, but even then she couldn't help but feel that something about him was off. Judging by his initial flinch when she had first showed him the ponies it wouldn't surprise her that he loathed doing what he did. Perhaps he would have preferred to just kill them outright rather than treat them?

One quick glance at Meelo told her that he thought the same; suspecting the stallion of having some hatred for the Moon & Star; something he might even take as a personal insult. Either that, or he just doesn't like him. It doesn't happen often, but it's not impossible for Meelo to dislike somepony. She winced internally when she remembered how he had haunted one pony about a month back because he didn't like him. He'd done nothing to harm him physically, but the psychological torture he put that stallion through was horrifying in and of itself; Meelo wasn't as harmless as he sometimes lead others to believe.

Her eyes followed the doctor as he levitated the corpses of the three inquisitors and left, not even blinking.

"Meelo," she said once he was out of earshot. "Keep an eye on him. Something about him makes me uneasy. It happens that ponies are not shocked by my presence, but how he seemingly reacted with nothing but slight caution, and how he eyed my blood regretfully when I evaporated it... I fear his agenda is something other than just being a good doctor helping ponies. Do what you feel necessary." Meelo glanced up at her and nodded, diving into the ground and following the stallion from underground; silently, unseen.

He followed him until he stopped and started digging the graves. Hiding in the shadow of the big earth pony-metal hybrid, he watched him speak and look around, clearly contemplating something. When he started sawing off the horns of unicorns near the border of the city, is eyes narrowed and he would have ground his teeth had he had a mouth in his incorporeal state. You're no better than the Earthborn! he roared in the silence of his own mind, fighting to keep silent. Only Theá's request and his want to remain unnoticed had him stay silent and continue observing. What Silver Scalpel said following his work only made the blaring alarms in Meelo's mind increase in volume. Not only was he not a common doctor that simply worked to heal others, but he was aiming for something more; something more powerful. To say that it terrified Meelo would be an understatement. Granted, he wasn't sure exactly what he meant by what he had said, but he had a good idea nonetheless.

'My Apotheosis...' With a gaze bordering on hatred, he fought to keep silent, watching the stallion... and lost. He exited the shadow he was hiding in and sped over to Silver Scalpel, delivering a piercing glare that promised punishment unlike any other should he try anything. He then disappeared into the ground again, taking his leave.

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Just as she had asked Meelo to follow the doctor due to how uneasy he made her feel, she took to the air and made for the opposite side of the town near where she knew there was a river. She could easily kill the doctor right then and there should she want to, but it felt wrong to just outright kill him despite how he made her feel. It would go against everything that she is; to hunt only when it was truly necessary, either to survive or to protect, was her way of doing things. Cold blooded murder was not.

She glided across the smoking remains of the town, looking down with an almost mournful look in her eyes. So many innocent had died, not at her hoof, but at the hoof of the Cult. At the very least I ended the blasphemy their bodies were subject to.

She touched down a few moments later, sitting down on her haunches facing the ruins. With a brief flash of her horn, a flute made of dark wood materialized in front of her and hovered up to her lips where she began to play. The flute itself was ordinary, but the sound that came from it was not. The calm tones echoed through the sky, sounding both mournful and happy at the same time. Her magic carried the tunes far and wide, shifting it just so and making it both enchanting and haunting.

She mourned the loss of those who had been so wrongfully killed by the Cult. Those who had been kidnapped and turned, mauled and crippled physically and mentally. She played an ode to the brave souls who had given their life to take down dozens of the abominations of the cult. So many had died, so many had been turned. But she knew, in her heart, that for every mortal who had lost their life defending their comrades and themselves, ten monstrosities had fallen.

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It had been about a few hours since the light had pierced the sky and the thunderclap had nearly thrown her off her hooves, but the hooded pony was now well on her way towards where she suspected the light had come from. She hoped to be there soon as it would soon be getting too dark to see properly. It was already darkening slightly, the sun slowly dipping towards the horizon in the west.

She looked towards the smoke coming from somewhere in the distance and, assuming that that was her destination, stepped up her pace and went into a light canter.

It wasn't long before she could see a green speck in the distance which slowly became bigger and bigger as she got closer. Once she was within a few hundred metres she thought whoever it was was a green pegasus with incredibly large wings. Whoever it was, their wings were spread wide with each feather stretched out to their maximum length. One wing alone is three times the length of a normal pony! She couldn't keep from gawking once she got closer and got to really see how large the wings were, neither could she keep the twinge of jealousy from worming its way into her mind.

She kept her canter up and steadily moved closer, all the while wondering as to the identity of the green pony all the while she started hearing music, but didn't really register it, too deep in her own musings. It had taken her some minutes to fight through the jealousy and awe at seeing such large wings, but the thought that perhaps this pony was one of the fabled new gods did managed to make its way to the forefront of her mind. Her brows pinched together into a small frown, now only a hundred metres away; the pony was large, very large even. She wouldn't be surprised if whoever it was reached twice the height of a normal pony, perhaps a little less. She could also, if she squinted, make out the top of a slender green horn pointing towards the sky, shining faintly with a green shimmer.

It was then that she grew conscious of the music, finding it both beautiful and haunting - even a little sad.

Shaking herself out of her reverie, she trotted the rest of the way up to the alicorn - having stopped before due to the music. She stopped when she was only a few pony lengths away, giving the wings one last longing glance before focusing on the back of the alicorn's head. "Who are you?" she asked.

Theá ceased he playing and banished the flute to where she usually kept it before she turned around, tucking her wings back to her sides, ruffling them briefly to make them sit more comfortably. "And I should ask you the same, you who are so daring as to sneak up on others so," she replied, giving a small tilt of her head. "Who are you?"

Sighing, the hooded pony obliged and reached up with a hoof to lower her hood, revealing a snow-white face with an icy-grey, windswept mane and icy-blue eyes to match. "My name is Winterjet, a pegasus wanderer who's just trying to survive in this hell of a country." She raised an eyebrow and look Theá in the eyes, giving her a stare that betrayed no fear. "And you?"

I might yet come to like this one. At least she doesn't cower and and grovel. "My name is Theá Erímo, and I'm the Goddess of the Wilds, Wild Animals, the Hunt and Fertility."

Winterjet snorted. "Fertility, really? That's gotta be the odd one out of you ask me." She would have said more had it not been for the stern glare she received, something which made her almost regret her words. Shit. Think I offended her. "My apologies," she said and dipped her head in a half-bow half-apologetic gesture. "I meant no offense, and had no intentions of your or your divinity."

Common sense, I like that in a pony. She had to fight to keep herself from rolling her eyes. "Very well, I accept your apology. Now then, why are you here and why did you sneak up on me?"

"Well... It's kinda difficult not to notice it when a pillar of light pierces the sky and creates a shockwave and thunderclap that can be felt and heart from several kilometres away. I was curious so I came to see what happened, kinda suspecting that it was one of the new gods... well, that and I wanted to see if the rumours of new gods was actually true and what better place to look than the place where a giant explosion had just rocked the world? And speaking of which." She walked up beside Theá and looked out over the crater, surveying the black earth and what rubble remained of the houses. "I assume this was you?"

"Yes."

Both her eyebrows rose in an expression of incredulity. "Who crapped in your cornflakes?" she mumbled.

"What was that?"

"Nothing. Just wondering what the hell happened." Her gaze fell back onto the alicorn, meeting her calculating eyes. "And if the rumours of you guys being able to give Blessings is true?"

Theá let out something halfway between a sigh and a groan, her own eyes moving to take in the waste she had created. "I destroyed this place, you need know nothing more."

"Why?"

"I was angry."

"Why?"

"You really are a daring one, aren't you Little Pony?"

"I'm not little. I'm actually quite big for a mare, not to mention more not quite as lanky as many pegasi." Winterjet puffed out her chest proudly, a self-assured smirk plastered on her muzzle.

"...Very well. The town was filled with the Cult, and when one of them wounded me a bit more than I liked, I decided that this place was better off not existing. So I destroyed it."

Winterjet nodded. It did make sense... somehow. Sure, it was a bit much to destroy an entire town because she got angry, but it sounded like it was quite a serious wound if she went to such lengths to wipe it off the map. "And your Blessings?"

"T'is true that we can share a fraction of our soul and bestow it upon a mortal, giving them a small amount of divine power and allowing them to do things that other mortals cannot. Some of us give it freely to those that share our ideals or those whom we find to be friendly. I, however, require a proof of worth."

"Which is?"

She shot a sidelong glance at the pegasus, wondering where the curiosity came from. She wasn't very nervous as far as she could tell, and she did know common courtesy when it came to making apologies. And her curiosity and questions... she couldn't help but think that the mare was trying to ask for her blessing.

"You seem awfully curious about it? Very well, I'll answer. I am a Huntress, and I require proof that whomever I bestow my blessing upon are worthy hunters themselves, or can at least be of use to me and my quest in some way." She turned her head to let the weight of her gaze fall fully onto Winterjet, letting her know thee scrutiny she was under. "My gift will sharpen the senses of whoever is granted it. They gain the ability to remain nearly unseen in the woodlands, and those who accept it will even become closer to the more brutal part of the wilds; they'll become part carnivore - omnivore if you wish."

Winterjet's mouth formed a small 'O' at this information. "Cool. I always wondered what meat tasted like, especially mackerel; always liked the smell, but couldn't stomach the thought of eating it."

"So does that mean that you wish to receive my blessing and become a follower of mine?" Winterjet was silent for a moment, rubbing a chin with a hoof before nodding. "Then you are aware that you must prove yourself. Tell me, what can you do? Or do you have proof of yourself as a capable hunter?"

Winterjet, shedding her cloak, spread her wings wide; they were large, larger than average, but nowhere near as large as the behemoth wings that were Theá's. She took a deep breath and touched a hoof to the snowflake necklace hanging around her neck, previously obscured by her cloak, and exhaled while focusing her magic. Water condensed around the edge of her wings before quickly solidfying, forming a sharp blade of ice on each. She then walked over to a piece of wood lying on the ground. Grabbing it in her mouth, she threw it into the air and, with a movement of her wing, cut the piece clean in two.

"That is what I can do," she told Theá, presenting the two pieces of wood and the place where they had been split from each other; it was clearly cut, not broken and with hardly any splinters. "With the help of this amulet that my mother gave me at my birth, I can control the water in the air around me and cover my body in ice to be used as armour or weapons in but a few split seconds. It's also tough as steel, so it won't shatter like normal ice would. Furthermore, I am stronger than most pegasi, albeit somewhat slower."

Theá nodded. "That is all good and well, and impressive indeed, but are you truly a hunter, or simply a soldier with impressive abilities?"

"Umm..." She scratched the back of her head awkwardly, eyes gazing into nothing as she went through a mental checklist of everything she had with her. "I think. Gimme a sec." She poked her head down into her saddlebags and rummaged through the, trying to find anything that would prove her as a hunter. Why am I even doing this? It's not like I need it, but... If I'm her follower, that'll mean that she will then be on my side, right? ...Can't be bad to have a God by your side. She mentally shrugged and, just then, came across something hairy in her saddlebag. Of course!

From her saddlebags she withdrew a large, woolly blanket - or that's what it looked like. Upon further inspection it was revealed to be the hide of an animal; something with a dark brown fur, likely a bear.

"This is the hide of a bear I killed some weeks ago. I may not have hunted it down, but it attacked me and I killed it and, figuring that a warm blanket could be useful, skinned as much of it as I could. It isn't all that well done, what with there being holes here and there, but it's thick and keeps me warm at night if I can't afford to make a fire." She looked up at Theá. "Is this enough?"

The alicorn looked it over, lighting her horn and gently prying it from the hooves of the pegasus. She turned it this way and that way, examining it to try and guess how old it was and it it was real or just a fake. From what she could see, it was real. There were signs of scars between the hairs, and the underside of it still held small specks of blood despite obvious efforts to wash them off.

She nodded and extended a wing, concentrating until a small orb made of something that seemed like a mix of liquid and smoke floated at the tip of her outermost primary feather. "Your abilities are extraordinary, and this fur is real indeed and seems new enough that I can accept your claim to have felled the beast yourself. Do you wish to receive my blessing?"

Winterjet, wide eyed, nodded. She honestly couldn't believe it. Sure, she'd entertained the thougt and somewhat hoped that it would happen, but for it to actually happen? Woah. A God is about to give me a part of her soul. This is surreal. She followed the small orb with her eyes as Theá gently guided it towards her chest with her wing, pushing it into her with little more than a warm tickle being felt.

Warmth spread through her body and at once did she feel... stronger, almost. New sounds appeared, new smells that had until now gone unnoticed popped out of nowhere, and those already there became enhanced. It felt like she had suddenly received glasses after having had bad eyesight for who knew how long - her eyes becoming significantly sharper than they were before.

The pleasant shudder that went through her was interrupted by a sharp pain in her gums and the tangy taste of metal hitting her tongue. She winced in pain and opened her mouth, covering one front leg in reflective ice and studied her reflection. Her teeth had noticeably changed, becoming those of a carnivore rather than a herbivore. Large fangs protruded from where her flat canines her been before, with smaller, sharp teeth poking out of her gums between them.

"This... is... awesome," she murmured, her words coming out somewhat awkwardly, the new fangs making it more difficult to move her tongue like she usually did.

"You can change your teeth at will to avoid rousing suspicion. It requires but a little effort. Try to imagine them turning flat and harmless again."

Winterjet did just that, repeating the mantra inside her head repeatedly as she visualised her teeth returning to normal. Flat and harmless, flat and harmless, flat and harmless. Slowly at first, but then faster and faster until they had returned to normal, her teeth turned from sharp and carnivorous to flat and harmless. "Woah... Plus ten points to intimidate."

"That ability can be used to do that, yes. What you do with it is you choice... As for you officially being a follower of mine-"

"-Huh? Oh, yes!"

Theá ignored the interruptions and kept going. "As for you officially being a follower of mine, I expect of you to listen to my requests and fulfil them." Winterjet nodded; she could see no problem in it so long as it didn't involve her going on a suicide mission. "Mainly, I require you to send me information of the going-ons in Equestria and wherever you might travel. You can do so by sending a message to me via one of my sentinels. They're animals like any other, but you'll notice that they are transparent if you get close enough. They can carry verbal messages, and they will let me know if you tell them something and send them to me. Understand?"

Winterjet nodded, grinning slightly. It seemed easy enough, send information and continue travelling. Alright in my book. "I understand, and I will do what I can... may I ask, though, why did you come to Equestria?"

"A fair question, and my purpose is simple. I seek to hunt down and purge the abomination that is the cult from this realm, and also to track down and find Celestia ad Luna again. I don't know where they are, but I know that they are alive."

The pegasus nodded again. "Alright. I, Winterjet, hereby join your following and swear to do as your divinity asks of me so long as I am able." She dipped her head, bowing deeply.

Theá, for her part, just smirked and shook her head. This'll be interesting. I'll keep an eye out for her, if only to learn more about her abilities.

The doctor was positively snarling when he returned, livid at being followed by such a “dull” creature. The look that it gave him, what was it? judgement? What did he know of anything? Of the greatness he would arise to, of the goal so tantalisingly out of reach, but not for much longer! He would have to begin soon, a brass citadel would rise in Old Hoof, and it would be his home, his heavenly paradise of machine, magic and science! It would be the cradle of a new civilisation, “his” civilisation, and from its flaming halls this new order would spread across the world.

But right now he would have to flee, the nightmare would return with its master soon no doubt, that rancid degenerate!

He packed up his equipment, quickly piling it on to Grunge and signalling to Honey to douse the fire. “We are leaving dear, time to take a new turn” he said, packing the hacksaw away amongst his scientific equipment and lighting up his horn in a small beacon of magic and muttering a spell.

Slowly the effects of what he had just cast became more pronounced, his bronze hair turned black and his fur turned to a type of orange, huge scarred began to form and cross his face and one eye went dull, then completely white. For the others the process was much the same, with Honey turning dark beige with a sand coloured mane, the only difference being that she remained wheel bound. The spell could not affect non-existent flesh after all. To anyone watching, it would have seemed as if an illusion had been broken, as if this was really their appearance rather than the previous incarnation.

He took out one of the horns and held it in his hoof sadly; it was a necessary complication to advanced transportation however, a mutual exchange with the entities beyond the spheres. He paused before the sleeping Inquisitors, considering his options. He could take another Alicornal sample but that would doubtless lead to further complications with Thea, so he decided against it. Instead he drew a circle with the horn a little further way from them and signalled Honey and Grunge to enter it; he repeated the process with a larger circle and began to draw a series of esoteric runes on the ground around him, measuring the process perfectly.

After all, he mused I have done this many times before.

When he was certain of the correctness of his work, he entered the circle and began a low chant in an unknown language. He had a good idea of where to go from here, an old lab of his stood around the area of Woodswatch and he could re-accommodate himself in easily. The place even had a small factory attached so he could rebuild a fair portion of his equipment after the disaster at Trottingham, much to his relief.

Hopefully the place had not been ransacked by looters or Moon and Star forces, although he doubted many could get past the defence parameters he had set up when he left for the war front.

With one last look at the scorched ruin of Old Hoof, he smiled “I’ll be back” he giggled. Turning back to his work he spoke the second last line of the ceremony and his horn lit up with a considerable pulse of green energy, arching across the circle and causing it to glow ominously. He lifted the inquisitor’s horn into the sky a spoke the final words necessary for the teleportation.

“ लकड़ी देखो, बलि सींग यात्रा.”

A bright green orb engulfed all of those within the circle after the final word, and a single arch of lightning struck it with an echoing boom. In a billow of smoke and fire, the doctor and his entourage had disappeared, leaving behind nothing but a hole in the ground, and a few distorted runes.

As Torrential Waters read the long letter, Star Dancer wondered what the alicorn was going to do next. Was he going to leave her? Send a message? Or was he going unleash his wrath? She remembered the shorn pegasus and shuddered. Sweeper was odd, but at least she was gentle and kind… most of the time. But Torrential is more like the forces of nature he controls. If he get's angry, I can do nothing but await whatever punishment he meddles out. She gulped at the thought.

Fortunately, Torrential seemed to have been pleased with the message. His smile invoked images in Danny's mind - of fluffy clouds on a sunny day. Or a gentle spring rain that sprinkled playfully on the earth below. Pleasant and quite welcoming. But there was times, she thought, of a distant thunderstorm. She couldn't quite figure out why however. The alicorn's invitation to join him made Dancer glad, feeling she had passed some sort of test. Though she could not send the news to Dean Iron Spoke right away, he did not expect Dancer to back any time soon. In any case, the Lady did tell her to accompany and serve her brother in any reasonable capacity.

When she realized that the alicorn was now waiting a few feet ahead, Dancer blushed and trotted quickly to Torrential's side. After some apologies, the pegasus answered the alicorn's question - explaining the foundation's purpose (preserving knowledge, as to save future generations), their numbers (which consist of about some 200 members, scattered around Equestria), and their new mission.

"… that all changed when the Lady Sweeper landed. In a few weeks, she did what would have taken our order a lifetime to do. What seemed like a distant dream was a new reality - that the fall of Equestria was not enviable. We could not just save the future, but the present as well.

"The Lady doesn't quite lead the Scholars, but we do her bidding. Since then, we've helped in many a restoration project - repair water lines and museums and old monuments, opened libraries, rebuild homes, and so forth. The Scholars are experts in a wide range of fields - from Literature to Engineering to Agriculture, all useful in the endeavor. It's a large task cleaning Equestria, but it's amazing what we got done in three months.

"But the Schoalrship still suffers setbacks - one of our major facilities was destroyed by the Sun and Moon. Originally that's why we sought out Arcon, in hopes he could better protect the Knowledge Vaults. We began by investigating a curator who disappeared, apparently taken by said alicorn. But alas, two of our order went missing as a result, so the search became one for our colleges."

---

Several Nights Earlier…

Hidden by a grove of trees, the bandits waited in the early morning to raid the merchant camp some distance away. Peachwater smiled as she spied the target - the travelers were a group of diamond dogs. Not only were they be easy pickings, not only would no pony care about such filth should they find the bodies, but they no doubt had plenty of precious jewels. A quick raid and the band would leave rich.

The bandits were ten in number, mostly thugs too violent for even the worse mercenary bands. Others were just poor ponies desperate for a meal. Whatever their desire, the group stole and scavenged what they could find. And tonight would seemed to be no different. Peachwater's golden mane was well kept despite her profession, and it seemed to swish every time she moved her head. "Alright ladies, time to earn our pay", she said after explaining the plan.

"About time," said Great Ton, a giant of a stallion that wore a mask of iron. He welded a large, spiked club. His eyes were full of menace. "It's been a while since I gone a spree. Time to make the blood flow again!", he said. But as soon as Great Ton got up, the would be reaver was smashed under the weight of a falling alicorn. His body crumpled and his limbs twisted odd directions.

The remaining bandits recoiled at the sight, shock at the sudden appearance of a bald alicorn, sliver coat shining in the moonlight, and a bundle of rags on her back. Peachwater growled at the sight.

"I heard every word, and I can't let you harm those travelers," said Sliver Sweeper. Indeed, the bandits had not bothered to look up at all. Then again, who would expect an alicorn in the sky?

Peachwater frowned, her tresses seemed to shimmer in the twilight. "Take her! We're not going to let this bitch get in our way!" The two unicorns of the group began to cast spells of binding to lock up Sweeper's wings. Much to Sweeper's surprise, the spells were very strong. Meanwhile, chains from the other ponies suddenly wrapped around her fore and hind legs.

Well, I didn't expect that thought Sweeper. I know Thea would scold me for jumping in like this - these bandits are faster and stronger than I thought.

Taking out a dagger, the bandit leader trotted up to Sweeper and grinned. "I'm going to taste your golden heart," Peachwater said, and jumped in the air. What she didn't expect was for the bed sheets to jump off the Alicorn's back and collide with her. Nor that the sheets would begin to wail on her.

"Sweeper, now!" Scroll said after making sure the leader was stunned. Still clad in the bedsheets, he was not noticed in the dark morning.

Sweeper's horn glowed, and a cutting blade formed in the air. In a second the spell cut through the chains which snapped into pieces. The unicorns were shocked by the sight and lost concentration. Scroll took advantage of this, and letting out a yell he began to attack the nearest spell caster. Sweeper jabbed her horn into the eye of the other unicorn, who let out a shout of pain.

The remaining bandits took out their weapons - swords, spears, crossbows, and even a few guns. But Sweeper lifted the speared unicorn and threw him into the group. She then lifted another bandit in the air with her telekinesis. She used the poor pony as a flail, smashing him into his comrades. Scroll was busy with one or two of the ponies, smashing their faces with with his hooves. He had little or no martial skills, but he was an Earth pony. His strength alone made up for the lack of combat training.

Scroll was about to work on another pony when he noticed a looming shadow. Turning around, he saw that Great Ton had risen. He lifted his club and slammed it into the side of the alicorn. Sweeper was confused for a bit, shocked by the strong blow. She collapsed. But soon her eyes narrowed into a glare, and she spat out golden ichor. Ton laughed and licked the ichor from the ground. "Sweet, so sweet!" he said.

"And deadly," said Sweeper. Ton wondered by what she meant by that, before his club was cut into three pieces diagonally. After the spell, Sweeper took the sharpest piece of the club with her magic, and rammed it right through the giant's thick metal mask. Gore flowed from the wound and Great Ton fell dead.

Horrified by the sight, the bandits began to run away, dropping their weapons in the process. Peachwater was trying to crawl away, but the alicorn lifted her from the ground. The alicorn stared straight into her eyes, and formed a cutting spell right in front of her eyes…

A few moments later, Peachwater came out of the trees, sobbing and shaking. Her scalp was bare skin, totally smooth. Her long mane was taken by the Lady Sweeper, as payment for her crimes. Behind her, a funeral pyre burned.

Torrential seemed quite content and a little excited to have somepony traveling with him for once; It was a nice change of pace from merely meeting ponies in passing. As he listened to Star Dancer explain what her organization was about and what they did, he couldn't help but smile warmly at her with a small sense of pride towards the mortals of the world for putting aside their differences in the face of adversity and preparing themselves for the process of rebirth and rebuilding that always came after even the worst of horrible disasters. If his sister hadn't already called 'dibs' on them, Torrential would have loved to have given them his seal of approval. Thinking about it, there was a very real chance that Silver used that exact wording when giving ponies her blessing. The idea of his sister placing her hoof on the foreheads of random ponies and just shouting 'Dibs!' as a sign that she was granting them her boom caused him to chuckle to himself... he would have been laughing outright but it most likely would have freaked his new found companion out. Bringing his laughter under control, he simply said "Sorry, thinking of Silver Sweeper tends to make me laugh. She's as nutty as a fruit cake but if you spend time with her you'll find something to laugh at sooner rather than later. Sorry to interrupt. Please continue."

It was only when the tale came to an end that Torrential started to look thoughtful. There were many things he could say on the matter of what the future would most likely hold between Arcon and the Scholars and odds were good that he would cover them with Star Dancer sooner or later, but as he walked down the road by her side he considered the simplest way to get the message across so she could share it with others of her order with ease. After some thought, he clicked his tongue as he had his answer.

"You should be very careful when dealing with Arcon in any way. He is the kind of pony that would save a book of magic from a fire over the pony who wrote it in less then a heartbeat. For all intents and purposes, consider him one of the more indifferent dragons; He will selfishly horde whatever knowledge or items he gathers in his horde with no intention of sharing it with anyone he deems beneath him. He might give any pony that jumps through his hoops and pays his heavy prices some of the scraps of his horde but any deals made with him will be on his terms and his terms only. If you have anything that interests him, be it item or pony for whatever reason he would be more likely to steal them away like a common thief rather then deal with those he deems beneath him. There is very little you can really do to stop him from doing it either; the best you can hope for is to make as many copies of a given item as possible and start spreading them around before he figures out you have it. If you're lucky, he will only take one for his collection... Most likely the original."

Turning towards Star Dancer, Torrential asked "Does that give you the idea of what kind of alicorn Arcon is?"

Dancer stood still at the Torrential's words, eyes widen and mouth partly opened. She nodded, now realizing that Arcon was a terrifying force to deal with. Closing her mouth, and gulping, Dancer resumed her walk. But in her mind the danger was far from over - the Scholars had to deal with an alicorn who couldn't care less for them.

"Yes, yes, that was apt description of Lord Arcon," she said. "And fits with what we know - the missing curator that apparently joined the Gatekeeper also took several important artworks with her. But from the sounds of it, Arcon may have taken those regardless if the curator wanted or not. And since our companions we're investigating his doings… I fear they may be captured, or worse.

"The Knowledge Vaults. I hope the investigators didn't tell Arcon about those. Though since the we've hadn't have any break ins, they may be safe. For now, I guess."

She shuddered. "It's strange, Lord Waters. The Lady never talked of Arcon that way, it was as if she was talking about a brother more than… well, a unstoppable force. Though she didn't seem to know why he came to this Mortal Plane in the first place. She just thought it was door repair. Or for that matter, the Lady didn't know why any of her other kin came as well. What would you advise?"

---

Several Days Earlier…

After the battle, the pair had cremated the bodies of Great Ton and a two unfortunates that didn't make it. They didn't have time to prepare a proper burial. But in any case, the alicorn was not in the mood to do so. Scroll gathered up the weapons and placed it into a bag forgotten by the raiders. The pair trotted towards the merchant camp that had just saved, the orange light of the fire still continuing behind them. Already sentries, both diamond dog and pony, were already waiting. Scroll raised his fore hoofs in a general symbol of peace. Once it was clear they meant no harm, they were free to enter the camp.

They were in the good graces of Wullf and Company: Proprietors of Steel Wares, Fine Goods, and Curiosities. Wullf himself was unusual for a diamond dog - for one thing, he washed and thus did not reek of musk. "Better to trade with ponies," he said. The other was that he seemed to be rather intelligent - he was reading some books by the pony Philosopher Sun Hoof. The Art of War? thought Scroll. A master work not only for the military, but also for bussinessponies. I thought the illiterate dogs never heard of it?

While the traders did thank Sweeper for her aid, they were not as helpless as they seemed. For the raiders failed to anticipate the dog's sense of smell. Being downwind, the camp was long prepared to defend themselves when they noted the bandit's stink. "Figures, with our luck we end up causing more trouble than we try to prevent," said Scroll. In any case, the Scholar traded the weapons for a compass.

Hours later, the moon had set and the sun was rising. The orange dawn peaked over the horizon, light rising over the Stormwing territory. The sun was already over Charter and the Leviathan fleet. It was now bringing light to the aftermath of the Trottingham riots, as Armifera was finishing off the remaining cultists. Torrential was about to meet with the leader of House Earthborn. Of Arcon, few know of what he did. Xerihan and Ricket were still on their journey to Muddy Hooves. And in the sky, Sweeper and Scroll were finally getting close to Old Hoof.

The pair were now getting close to the destination. The wind felt nice and the clouds of the previous night were few and far between. Below the land was looked desolate - roads covered in grass, farms overtaken by weeds and wildlife. It was as if everypony just up and left.

"Did you really have to do that?" asked Scroll.

"Do what?", replied the alicorn.

"Shave that bandit's head… I thought that was a bit much."

"After what she threatened? It's utter sacrilege, and she wasn't going to get away with that."

Scroll frowned. "You should have shown a bit of mercy."

"I did show mercy - I didn't shave her entire coat off like I wanted to."

"That's only because it would have been a bigger mess to clean."

Sweeper eyes opened wide. How did he know that?

Scroll looked over and gasped. In the distance, he could see the flattened remains of Old Hoof. Nothing living could be seen in permitter. Even the destruction of the old University could not prepare Scroll for the awe invoking sight. He seemed to recall an ancient text he once read: "I am the destroyer of worlds, my light will cleanse the wicked" Sweeper looked down as well, trying to find any of her kin.

"In any case," she continued ", I think we've arrived at the destinati-."

She was unprepared for the large duck that impacted her head.

And if it wasn't for Scroll yelling she probably would have not noticed she was spiraling out of control. Sweeper realized she was dazed for at most a few seconds, just enough time to fall in a corkscrew. The Scholar on her back clutched with all his strength to keep from flying off. She reopened her wings and began to control the decent. Alas, she was still going too fast - it was going to be a rough landing.

In a few seconds, Sweeper landed head first into the dirt. Scroll was still on her back, head down, eyes closed, and trembling. He opened up his eyes, and was greeted by the sight of an green alicorn looking down at them in confusion. Scroll was in a lost for words, when Sweeper stood up and repelled the dust from her body. She then looked at the other alicorn and grinned. "Hi Thea!"

Theá and Winterjet had been talking together for about an hour or two, each asking the other questions - with Winterjet being significantly more cautious - about their respective lives and goals. Winterjet had let slip that she was from the north, hailing from a small village near the Crystal Empire but outside of the dome. She’d grown up in a harsh environment of snowstorms, chill winds, limited agriculture and hard labor. Her cutie mark - a snowflake with a metallic silver-sheen - had appeared when she had saved herself from getting pierced by a sharp rock jutting out of the ground by shielding her side with ice as a form of armour. It had been tough enough that she only received a bruise that wouldn’t let her sleep for a week.

She’d later tried to do the same both with and without her amulet, and found that it was whatever magic inhabited the amulet that empowered her magic to the point where it was as strong as steel. A few stories about her travels had also been shared; about how she had actually fought and killed the bear she had gotten the fur from, how she had once snuck through an Everfree Tribe to steal from their food storages and only just gotten out alive.

“You have some interesting tales, Little One,” Theá said, giving the pegasus a brief glance before turning her eyes towards the horizon where the sun was just starting to peek up from behind the hills. “And a life with continuous struggles as well. What happened to you wanting to become a guard, though? You did say that it was your childhood dream.”

Winterjet sighed, hanging her head slightly. “Yeah, I did want to become a royal guard and protect the princesses, but they disappeared when I was only 15—three years before I was of age to join—and I by then it was already too late. My father and mother, however, trained me as best they could together with some of their friends in the homeguard. I was taught to fight, to survive. I was taught the values of a true protector, and I can’t count how many times they beat it into my head that I had to put others above myself; I was to be a guard, so civilian lives were worth more than my own.” She grimaced and stomped a hoof on the ground. “Not much good it did me. I couldn’t do shit when a fight between the cult and some gryphons moved into our village. My parents and I managed to flee and after a week or two came across a refugee near Canterhorn. Mom and Dad decided to stay, and so did I for a couple years. It was five years until they both died. Not by some attack but simply age and sickness. The nurses couldn’t do anything.”

She was silent for a moment, nothing but the sound of the wind rushing past them. She suddenly chuckled. “Cliché as it may sound, I remember my mother’s last words to me before she slept in: ‘Do what you think is right’. It’s nothing special, but I think she wanted me to continue to try and protect ponies… That was twelve years ago—I’ve been wandering around every since, staying no more than a year at any refugee camp before moving on.”

Theá nodded, a ghost of a smile on her lips. “Commendable, truly. Not many have managed to survive this long without being affiliated to any faction. You tell me you were a soldier, or as much of one as you could become given the circumstances, so why didn’t you join the Stormwing?”

“While Stormwing may be militaristic and hold to the customs set down by Commander Hurricane centuries ago they are not something I like. They’re too… I don’t know. I just don’t like the—what the hell is that?!”

While talking she had let her gaze turn towards the sky where she noticed a grey shape rapidly descending… or rather, falling.

Winterjet jumped with her wings flared, crouching into a combat-ready position when whatever, or whoever, it was crashed into the ground only a few metres from them, her teeth unwittingly bared and turned into those of a carnivore again.

Theá, for her part just watched with a raised eyebrow at the familiar shape that had collided face-first with the ground.

I don’t know her.

Yes you do. See those wings? That horn? She’s an Alicorn like you.

Yes, but I don’t know her.

Shaved head, a klutz, grey coat. Doesn’t ring a bell? She’s your sister, Silver Sweeper.

I don’t know her.

“Hi Theá!”

Told you!

Shut up. Theá inwardly groaned, finally silencing the part of her mind that insisted on recognising Silver Sweeper as a paragon and a guardian of ponykind. That is, unless that part of her had gone silent on its own thanks to Sweeper greeting her.

“Who the hell is that?”

Theá turned her head to look at Winterjet, wings still spread wide, but her stance was more relaxed and she no longer bared her teeth, although the fangs still poked a good centimetre out from her upper lip, not to mention that they were easy to spot when she spoke.

“That, Winterjet, is my sister and fellow Goddess, Silver Sweeper and…” she cocked her head to the side. “Someone tied to her back like a ragdoll. Who might you be? ...And yes, hello to you, Sweeper. It’s been a while.”

Sweeper trotted closer to her kin and the pegasus she was previously talking to. Scroll, finally relaxing after such a frightful fall, let go of the sliver alicorn's back. He flopped to the ground, being too exhausted by the ordeal. He stood up soon after, and the Lady repelled the dirt from her High Priest.

"Very polite of you to honor my sister," said Sweeper, mistaking his fall as a sign of reverence.

"I am Bright Scroll, Scholar, High Priest, and well, any other titles that the Lady Sweeper decides to give me," said the earth pony to Thea. "And Ragdoll is a rather apt description of how I feel riding on the Lady's back."

Sweeper chuckled. "He is also my First Paladin. You should have seen him fight for my honor just some hours ago! Without even a blade to defend himself, he took out four ponies. Speaking of which…" She looked into the bedsheet that was tied around her body that was serving as a saddlebag. Opening it, she brought out a long blonde mane that was braided. Using her magic, the braid floated in the air and in her presence it seemed to be made of gold. "A spoil of war!"

Scroll looked at the Thea and her companion, wondering if they were confused by what was going on. But he smiled at the sight of Thea - her beauty, dignity, and bearing was like Celestia and Luna's. The Huntress definitely looked like a High One, unlike her grey kin.

"Well what do you think of it? And who is your friend? Oh yeah, we came here to investigate a bright light - did you find another of our kin around here?," Sweeper asked. Scroll sighed -the grey alicorn spoke so fast it seemed like her words started to blend together.

Torrential had to think about his answer before giving any advice that might shape how an organisation dealt with one or more of his kin. "I can't really give you a generalized guide on how to deal with alicorns since each and everyone one of us is as different as day is to night or night is to a disco dance hall or a duck wearing a hat. You would have to name an alicorn or at the least give a general description of what they look like and what they do before I could give you any advice on how to deal with them on a personal level."

"As for Arcon... Well, I know a fair bit about him since we have had quite the number of... well, I wouldn't say we argue since having an argument implies that someone is going to talk the other around to their point of view sooner or later. Arcon and I like to have outright shouting matches at each other that becomes a conversation if your fair enough away to make out the words we are screaming at each other. The best course of action I can offer you to prevent him from stealing everything you've worked so hard to collect and recreate would be to copy everything you get as quickly as possible than offer up the original to him as a 'tribute'. He is quite arrogant and having ponies pandering to his ego by offering their knowledge to him freely will most likely get him off your cases and will make it less likely that he will just ransack your vaults on a whim."

Torrential let out a small sigh, a clear look of distaste for the advice he gave. "It's not the best advice that has ever been given but its the only one that has any real chance of success. Any other course of action in regards to him... It's not so much a 'Does it have a chance of success?' situation as it is a 'Just how hard is he going to bitch slap us when it fails?' kind of deal."

His explanation given, Torrential asked Star Dancer "So did you have any other alicorns you wanted to get some information on, or just any other questions in general?"

The alarm bells immediately went off in Winterjet's head as Sweeper started to talk. She may be a god, she may be frighteningly powerful, but there was one thing she was above all else; one word that described her better than any other, and that word was exactly what Winterjet had in mind at the very instant she opened her mouth to talk.

Oddball. Had she not wanted to stay polite and avoid any chances of offending the two gods present, she would have facehooved hard enough to leave a horseshoe-shaped mark for the rest of the day. He fell face-first onto the ground just like yourself! He didn't bow, you dimwit! Winterjet roared on the silence of her own mind, hoping that this Sweeper could not read minds.

Winterjet continued thinking up degenerative insults to Sweeper's intelligence while said alicorn spoke to Theá, gushing about the earth pony's bravery and skills in combat. "Impressive," Theá admitted, her eyes snapping onto the Bright Scroll, looking him over with an intensity and scrutiny that would make many accuse her of being either a pervert or plotting how best to kill him. "Not often you see someone like yourself fight others. Why, may I ask? Desperation? A genuine wish to protect? You have me curious; I see no fighter in you, yet you fought back against four others and emerged victorious?" Her gaze softened slightly, yet it still held an edge to it. "With the proper training you could become a prime hunter among my followers."

She paused, finally returning her attention to Silver Sweeper, and the bundle of hair she held in her magic. "...What? Spoils of War? Sweeper you incorrigible... I swear, a platypus seems normal when compared to you. You took somepony's mane as a spoil of war? A sword, a breast-plate, a helmet or shield, even grain or a package of cheese is a spoil of war. Not that." She shook her head and banished the conversation and its contents to the darkness of her innermost thoughts where she wouldn't have to think of it for the time being, allowing her to focus on more important matters such as the questions posed to her.

"This," she motioned to Winterjet with a wing, the pegasus—still with her carnivorous teeth, as she had not yet realised that they weren't her 'normal ones'—took a step forward and gave a respectful nod to both Sweeper and Bright Scroll. "Is Winterjet, my newest follower. She approached me only a few hours ago, curious as to the very light that you also seek answers to."

She looked towards the crater of what was once Old Hoof. "I am responsible for this. The light you saw was me; I destroyed this town and everything within." She returned to Sweeper, an eyebrow raised. "Do you judge me?"

The small town of Woodswatch sat on a fold of land just below a small hill just beyond Fort Horn, and by in large it had escaped the ravages of conflict during the civil war with relative ease. The town had been mostly isolated by the position it held in a relatively peaceful pocket of the Whitetail Woods, and the greater areas of conflict mostly held to the south between Moon and Star, Earthborn and the spider-like intrigues of WhiteGold.

Still it had felt the touch of the worst of what had been brought by the conflict, disease, famine, crop failures and banditry had run rampant across the whole of Equestria, and the roads no longer proved to be exactly safe for travel without guards. Asides from desperate groups of refugees and the occasional mercenary band the town did not get much traffic anymore. There had once been a doctor in the region but he had long since disappeared when Moon and Star had conscripted the younger generation for another life-consuming war with the Earthborn, which doubtless ended up getting them no more than six foot of territory.

Still, for both sides of the conflict that was enough, another six foot for the corpses to be buried under after all! And the general’s drinks cabinet moved a couple of inches closer to New Ponyville! Progress!

The whole town clung to a sense of waving optimism in their peace, a false hope that things improve or change for the better. They had hoped for help from the gods when they had returned, but those that appeared seemed completely disinterested in attempting to create any semblance of the peace once found under the Celestial Diarchy.

For Nocturne it was inescapably boring.

The Diarchy had once had positions for well verse researchers in the sciences, and Struttgart University had continued in that valiant effort a further decade into the war, but with its conquest by Moon and Star that no longer the case. With the rise of the Moon and Star and its all-but-in-name Theocracy, the sciences had been given a distinctively unicorn centric bent to them, or had their budget redirected to something suitable for the unicorn war effort. Then there had been a mass purge of non-unicorn researchers because they were Untereinhorn or something, which was the reason Nocturnes tufty ears were in a backwater village, rather back in one of the nations prestigious universities.

Mind you, that might also have to do with her attempting to vivisect a racist inquisitor and some primitive experiments with electrical currents and illegally acquired severed limbs.

Regardless, the bat pony researcher was stuck dealing with night watchpony duty rather than researching the magical sciences or equine biology. Of course the village had suddenly decided that her purpose would be as a night watchpony on the realisation that bats were both nocturnal and could see in the dark, so she was stuck with it digging into his free time whilst having to wait until day before even getting access to any of the village services. The only upside to this was the fact that the local inn stayed open late and she could get easily plastered due to the low prices of booze, although the sullen environment hardly lent itself to enjoying ones liquor.

So she was currently doing her rounds with a bottle of moonshine, wandering around like a drunken bumblebee with no apparently course of direction. A pleasant warm feeling had spread out to the very tips of her wings and she had a goofy smile on her face, pleasantly humming a tune from the Old Country which had something to do with dragons.

To call this the most suitable state for a night watchpony to be in would be pushing it, but nobody had bothered to bring it up, and her pay remained stable so she guessed they didn’t really care. Why should they anyway? The town hadn’t been touched much by the war the past twenty years, and even the cult hadn’t turned up to spread its sick “parties” like in some many other towns, it seemed safe.

Of course, that night fate decided to spoil what would have been a peaceful night of flying around town until she hit a tree and send her a sudden green lightning bolt and a small scale explosion. She let out a sonar “Eep!” and tumbled out the sky, landing roughly on her back as exploded pinewood began to fly through the air like wooden stakes. She lay there a while, pinned to the ground by a mixture of surprise and fear, simply staring into a murky shadows as a foul smelling fog rose into the air.

“What the hell was that?”

Her drunken stupor was quickly wearing off due to the adrenaline rush which had coursed through her system. She got back into her hooves, took one look at the glowing green mist and decided it would be a good time for another swig of moonshine.

“Maybe it was a meteorite of some kind…” she hypothesised, although she doubted that it could have been anything of the like. Meteorites don’t glow green… or emerge from lightning bolts. As the mist cleared she began to discern shapes in the darkness, as she drew a little closer she suddenly realised they weren’t pieces of wood or broken flaming meteorite debris.

They were ponies.

Nocturne decided to take a deeper draught of moonshine.

They started to advance towards her through the fog and she took one step back, then another, then another. Eventually the first of them breached the fog and she breathed a sigh of relief, it was just a pony, nothing too nightmarish. He had a heavily scarred face, with one eye dulled to a milky orb and a stern frown etched across his face. If he had been dressed any differently she might have mistaken him for a common bandit, but the clothes spoke of some level of wealth, even though they were rather worn down by continued travelling.

Some sort of nomadic aristo? She wondered.

The other two figures emerged behind the well dressed aristocrat, a huge cloaked earth pony which looked twice the size of even the biggest of the tinpot chargers of the Earthborn, and a small beige unicorn foal in a wheel chair.

Another long drink of booze was needed.

The aristo hadn’t noticed her yet, doubtless it was too dark and gloomy, and for a moment she considered just going on her way and ignoring the whole incident.

… Nah fuck that, this is the most interesting thing to happen all year.

So she plucked up her courage, put her best smile on, and waved at the figure through the darkness.

“Hello!”

***

The teleportation had occurred without a hitch apparently, and hopefully the basic intent behind the ancient language hadn’t transported him anywhere strange. It seemed as if he had been blasted through the sky into some sort of pine forest, which hopefully was where Woodswatch was, as he remembered there had been a pine forest there too. The thick smog caused him to cough a little as he emerged and scanned the surrounding area, but it was making it somewhat difficult for him to get a clear idea where he was. He could see lights in the distance and presumed it was some sort of local town or village of sorts, hopefully the right one. Only then did he realise he was still using his magic to levitate what was left of the unicorn horn, he promptly ended the magical stream and what was once a cone shaped pile of dust flew away on a nightly breeze.

“Hallo!”

The shout startled him out of his revery and he looked around panicking for the source, his eyes scanning the surround woods. Eventually they picked up on something, two huge luminous eyes which stared at him curiously from the darkness.

Oh lord please don’t tell me that Nightmares have learned long range teleportation spells since I was gone.

He shot up an orb of light at the location of the eyes and the figure let out a small bat-like squeak of surprise. To his relief he the orb showed nothing more than a bat pony, temporarily blinded by the sudden source of light.

Wait… a bat pony?

“Oh by Celestia’s golden tits please don’t tell me I accidentally teleported to the Deep North!”

“Vhat? Nein you are shtill in Equestria you silly pony, dis is Voodsvatch.”

“Oh thank goodness me, I thought I’d gone right off course… speaking of directions however, how come a Bat pony is in a small town like this? I thought your people had retreated to the mountains after the sisters disappeared.”

“Ach, I ended oop shtuck here after de purging af Struttgart University und Medical School, de outbreak af de Var made travel unsafe und I couldn't find a flock to go back to de alt Country vith.”

“How far did you get in to your degree?

“I vas a third year shtudent at medical school, vould haf finished if not for ze var und an incident vit an inquisitor vich ended op expelling me before de purges.”

“What was the incident?”

Nocturne chuckled, “Vivisection.”

Scalpel gave her a look, trying to figure out whether she was serious or not. Realising she was his face lit up in a warm, if slightly creepy smile.

“I think we will get on just fine… say… are you looking for employment?”

***

“Well this escalated quickly” mused Nocturne, slightly amused at the turn of events.

“Indeed.”

“So explain to me again why we are digging up fresh corpses in the town’s local graveyard?” queried the Bat Pony as she dug into the earth with a spade next to the gigantic figure of the Earth Pony. The giant hadn’t said a word since she had met the Doctor – who actually hadn’t given her an actual name besides his title- and she was beginning to doubt the actual living creature of the robed creature.

“Mostly because you happened to follow me, and weren’t averse to lending a hoof, otherwise because I seem to be your new employer” replied the Doctor, who seemed to be readying certain serums and chemicals injecting into the corpse.

“Are you sure this corpse is fresh?”

“Winters? Sure, fresh as a daisy, they only plumbed him in a couple of hours ago.”

“Fantastic.”

“So, what? You are some sort of Necromancer?”

“Necromancer? Ha, no. Necromancers just seek to reanimate the flesh with a predetermined purpose, there is no conscious decision making being done in the creatures they raise, only simplistic the directives fed to it by the creator. What I wish to do is more complex, I want to return some level of individualism and consciousness to the body and not have it rely on my magic alone to sustain it, in essence I guess am a resurrectionist, among other things.”

“Still sounds like Necromancy to me.”

“Suit yourself, I used to do it through other means, but the dust just got everywhere and they tended to get antsy and rebellious” grumbled the doctor, levitating one of the needles and letting a fountain of serum spout forth to check for damage or blockage.

“If you didn’t sound so serious there I’d swear you were pulling my wing.”

“Please, I am terrible at jokes.”

With a loud thud the spades hit the coffin and Nocturne and the big pony began to clear away the last of the dirt. The Doctor levitated both of them crowbars and they quickly began to rip out the nails with little effort. With the finally nail removed the doctor unceremoniously lifted the coffin lid and cast it aside.

The doctor eyed up the corpse critically, To Nocturne it seemed to be in good condition, if a bit pale, she assumed tuberculosis was what had finally done the young pony in. Whoever had prepared the corpse for burial had done an excellent job, perhaps she’d look them up sometime.

“Hmmm… Yes, this will do nicely.”

***

Scalpel kicked in the door to his old laboratory and walked in with the corpse lying horizontal over his back. He looked around his old abode and felt a twinge of nostalgia for past experiments and better times. The place looked quite dusty, and for a moment he hoped for a sudden appearance of that bonkers Alicorn some ponies worshipped who was a supposed god of cleanliness… still, at least this proved that the old defensive spells were still active.

Scalpel wandered over to an old dissection slab, casting a minor cleaning spell as he did so and levitated the corpse onto it in preparation for future experiments. The Bat Pony was busy looking around, relatively intrigued by the complex and seemingly insane contraptions of this older version of his Trottingham labs. She had a dark grey coat, which was highlighted by a pair of bright green catlike eyes and a cream coloured mane, her cutie mark seemed to suggest she was also a surgical practitioner, although there was suggestions of biochemistry as well.

Silver had to admit however, she did have cute ears, for some reason the tufts made her look sort of adorable, in a weird sort of “hiding-the-fact-that you-tried-to-cut-a-pony-up-alive-for-science” kind of way. She hadn’t even blinked once when he offered to hire her, not even when they started digging up grave and he talked about resurrectionism and necromancy. This sort of stuff usually sent ponies running for the hills, but she had just sort of shrugged impassively.

Something told him that they were going to be best of friends.

“So Vhat happens now?” she queried, slowly circling the lab by wing in apparent interest, trying to familiarise herself as much as possible with the new location.

Silver crossed to a metal lever built into the wall, and enveloped it in the glow of his horn.

“Now?”

He pulled the switch suddenly and slowly the lab generators and machinery began to power up again after a year of silence. He was glad that he had gone to the trouble of creating those long term crystal batteries now.

“Now we practice science!”

"Do you judge me?"

The question posed by Thea seemed to silence all sound in the area. Sweeper placed the braid back in makeshift saddlebag. Her eyes narrowed, her smile disappeared. The two sisters looked intently at each other in silence. Scroll braced himself as the tension rose.

"Well…", Sweeper looked to her left and right. ", I think had you taken the time to cast the spell correctly, then the destruction would have been much more through. There's still plenty of ruin when there should be nothing but ash. And I think the ground should have rumbled considerably as well. But despite not quite achieving the full effect, the accuracy and range made up for that. Overall, it works."

Scroll relaxed, and didn't fall over in shock this time. Wullf had warned when they said their destination was Old Hoof: "Ponies don't go there. Dogs don't go there. Miles and miles they go around to avoid the place," said the Diamond Dog. "For five years, shinny pony, no one has come back. All merchants avoid the place." The traders begged them not to go, or at least not land there. "If I'm right," Sweeper said ", that town won't be a problem." Based on Sweeper's earlier words, Scroll could only assume something evil was in this town that required such retaliation.

To change the mood, Scroll replied to the Huntress' question. "Lady Thea, I am honored by your words. But though I may be an academic, we are not all hermits with an aversion to physical activity. Quite the opposite really. I've been in a many a fight over scholarly matters long before the Sister's disappearance." This was true - the first time he met Star Dancer was during such a brawl in a classroom. There was a dispute between two groups over the structure of the Equestrian star system. "And my travels across the land, one becomes adept at fighting, if a crude brawler I may be. It's almost second nature, instinct perhaps, one for survival."

---

Torrential's answer was still being digested by Dancer. Both were alone for miles, surrounded by breathtaking scenery. In the sky, here and there was an opening for the sun, allowing majestic rays of light through. In some areas, the rain refracted the light to create rainbows unlike any seen before.

After a while she responded, "We haven't had any direct dealings with Arcon yet. We just know two our members have disappeared, maybe being held by him. So there may be a chance that he doesn't know about our mission, assuming the missing Scholars keep silent.

"And even if they let something slip out, they would only know the location of a few of our facilities and vaults. He wouldn't know were all of them are, unless Arcon is omniscient. Dean Iron Spoke would have sent me directly to Sweeper if there was ever a raid on the Vaults involving an alicorn. We may have time."

Dancer mind went over to Sweeper, and Torrential's next question. "I was thinking also about the Lady Sliver. It just seems odd that she wouldn't tell us much about Arcon, such as his personality. She spoke of her various relations before, including yourself High One. But more like a brother or a father, and never anything negative. In fact, she seems to think all of her kin quite fondly. Why is that?" Dancer's face was one of concern, a shadow of doubt about the lady clouded her mind.

Oddball, nutcase, coo-coo, weirdo... did I use oddball already? Winterjet sighed, the grey alicorn was a really strange one. She'd seemed so serious one moment, then started prattling about how Theá could have done a 'better job' at destroying the town. She readjusted her wings, shuffling them into a more comfortable position as she tried to fight off the awkwardness that was being near Silver Sweeper. She had nothing against her at all, but her mannerisms were... not normal.

Theá almost bristled at Sweeper's response, only just managing to keep her wings from spreading from the offense she felt. Her tone was tight and controlled, clearly holding back a scathing remark; she hated being insulted, deliberately or inadvertently. "Could have done better? I do not know about you, but when your wing is cut off, something I pride myself on immensely, then I do not care for efficiency. Not only had an entire band of cultists taken over the town and killed anyone who came near, turning them into their abominations, but they also chose to attack me personally. Efficiency was the last thing on my mind when I obliterated this sorry excuse of a hideout. What remains are charred beams of wood and scraps of metal; hardly a bone of any corpse is left. I destroyed everything here, as was my intent, and whether or not it is but a pile of ashes of a pile of charred ruins is none of my concern." She stared at Silver Sweeper for a few moments more before she turned around and walked away, stopping once she was a good twenty paces away, her face turned to the sky.

"...I think you offended her," Winterjet muttered, looking between the clearly angry Theá and the other alicorn. She didn't really know what to say in the current situation, given the fact that the more poweful (she assumed) of the alicorns was currently busy with calming down, and the other would not be good for any meaningful conversation... unless it involved something odd which Winterjet, admittedly, wasn't very keen on talking about.

"So... Bright Scroll, was it?" she asked, looking at the earth pony. "How'd you come to be under the-Ow!" She winced and opened her mouth, bringing a hoof up to her lip before looking at it; blood coated the tip, and she knew exactly why. She formed another reflective surface on her leg and looked at herself, seeing how her teeth had changed and realising that she had bit herself in the lip with one of her new fangs. "Oow... Why didn't any of you say anything? It's not like it's difficult to notice, and it's kinda weird knowing I've looked like some kind of predator while chatting with you guys." She spat out a small bit of blood, and fished out a canteen of water from her saddlebags from which she took a few gulps of water to rinse with. "That's better... just hope I don't bite myself again... Freaking hurts. Anywho, how did you come to be a follower of Sweeper's, Scroll?"

“The only ones with the authority to judge you, fair sister, no longer reside on this plane,” declared a voice of smooth velvet from some distance from the gathering.

The majority of Old Hoof had been obliterated, true to Thea’s word. All that remained was charred earth, broken stone, and twisted metal. The army of rotten flesh and madness that had dared to oppose her had been reduced to nothing more than ashes scattered by the cool dry breeze that flittered across the land. The destruction of the hamlet, however, was not complete. Whether through some stroke of luck or twist of fate, the front of a docile had been spared the worst of Thea’s blast. A single wall still, relatively intact, amongst the broken labyrinth of streets and foundations.

And set into the center of its remains, a door still hung on shattered hinges

The door frame, or rather, what was left of it, crumbled to pieces as Arcon stepped through it. His great sandy plumage expanded, and with a few powerful wing beats he had crossed to length of the ruins to them. A single length of black chain wrapped across his midsection and shoulders, held within his magical grip.

The brittle splinters of bone from some unnamed cultist crunched under his hooves as he landed before the other alicorns. His dark eyes indecipherable, stared around at the bleak landscape his ears pricking for the slightest sound. Other than the low and mournful moan of the wind across the moor, all was silent. After a moment of silence to look over his kin,

“I saw your light and feared the worst, though it seems such doubts were unfounded. It does my heart well to see your faces again, dear sisters,” Arcon said, his face softening ever so slightly as he bowed his head slightly to Thea and Silver Sweeper in turn. “I trust then, the battle is well over?” he asked, as the chains melted back into black smoke. As he drew nearer, the mortals could see that he stood a few inches above each of the female alicorns, his frame bulkier and larger under the thick woolen robe that he wore.

Arcon did not spare a glance for Winterjet, choosing instead to remain off to the side of the two sisters. “Had my sister Thea truly found her honor affronted, pegasus,” the alicorn chided flatly, “Then she would be the first to defend it with deed against Silver Silver, and the whole of Equestria would know its reckoning.” For a moment, he turned to look at Scroll, his lips set into a tight frown, but said nothing. The alicorn seemed to dissect the unicorn in his minds eyes, prying deep for any truth within his words. Then, just as quickly as the look of scrutiny came, it was gone, and his gazed returned to that of his sisters.

“Now…” Arcon said, his voice now laced with curiosity turning to his kin. “Might I ask why the two of you felt it necessary to redesign the landscape in such dramatic fashion?”

When Thea turned her back, Sweeper eyes began to tear up, and bowed her head down. There was a moment of silence after Winterjet spoke. Then Sweeper said, "I'm sorry!", perhaps a bit too loudly. "Thea, I didn't mean to sound mean or anything. It just that I thought you wanted somepony to provide you with a reasonable analysis. I was just being honest, that's all. And you did a lot better than I would - if I attempted that spell, I'd probably hit the other side of the planet instead of the target. If it didn't fizzle out that is.

"And I didn't know that you were hurt, or attacked by a mob… You're alright, right?"Her eyes became one of concern for her kin.

Scroll went over and patted the grey alicorn. He looked at Winterjet. "Sorry, I think I've been around the Lady so long, I'm probably used to to… different sights." He gave a quick bow to the pegasus. Though, I thought the fangs were adorable he thought to himself. "As for how I became a follower, well, probably just like the landing you just saw right now. I was one of the first to meet her three months ago. What we thought was a meteor shower was the alicorns, and Sweeper landed face first into the shanty town I lived in.

"You're probably wondering why I still follow her, despite… well," he made a gesture to the alicorn's baldness. "She many be unothrodox in her methods, but she is quite capable in her mission. She brought hope to me, to my order. Three months ago I thought that Equestria was doomed. But now, I can say it has a fighting chance thanks to the Lady and her kin."

Then they heard the voice of Arcon, and soon the Alicorn of the Gates appeared. "Hi, Arc," said Sweeper, sadness still in her voice. Not even the appearance of another of her brothers could bring cheer. Scroll eye's lit up. The Alicorn the order has been seeking! What luck! he thought. But Arcon's gaze caused him some concern. Unlike the eyes of Sweeper, he seemed cold, almost uncaring. It was more like Scroll was a frog to be dissected. Scroll wondered what that meant for the future.

---

Charter vomited over the side of the ship. Son of a sailor he may be, but a landlubber he was most of his life. It would take time before he could get used to the waves of the sea rolling bellow. Some of the crew chuckled in good jest.

They were several hours out of what was Star Harbor. The sky was bright, and the few clouds in the sky seemed to add to the wonder of the ocean scape. Not even sea sickness could dampen Charter's sprits. Know he knew why ponies ventured beyond their land, into the depths controlled by monsters. The very air was saturated with the sense of freedom.

The bell rang, and it seemed that lunch was being served to the next shift in the galley. While Charter wasn't feeling hungry, he still went below. It was a good chance to catch up with the crew about what's going on. In the lower decks, he saw Grimwing and Deckhoof at a table. Seeing he was being motioned there, the surveyor went over. "So how are things going?", began Charter.

"I love Silver. She is a wonderful pony and few can deny that she brightens up the place wherever she goes. But... well..." Torrential clicked his tongue as he considered his next few words carefully. "Since you bear her blessing, its safe to assume that you've met her. She is quite the odd little duckling at the best of times. But her heart tends to be in the right place... even if her brain is on cake and her attention is elsewhere." Turning away from Star Dancer to gaze at the sky for a moment, Torrential seemed to be thinking once again.

"Most of my brothers and sisters tend to avoid Silver a lot of the time. Some are like me in that we have our own things that need doing and we simply don't have time to stop by and say hello, but others tend to actively avoid her. Some because they don't like her while others because she harms their image; It's hard to convince ponies that ailcorns are what it means to be graceful, regal god like beings deserving of worship, respect and fear when those same ponies can see and interact with Silver Sweeper." The alicorn of rain and farming couldn't help but chuckle a little at his own thoughts on the subject.

"And its a good thing she does too. Ponies need to do things with their lives beyond worshiping alicorns blindly; They need to think of themselves and no one can make a pony rethink their life like Sliver can."

The breeze blew through and toyed with what few loose hair had escaped from the braid, picking them up and trying to carry them away. Theá's eyes had closed, her ears splayed backwards as she tried to shut out the shouts from Sweeper. She was offended, she was angry, but why?

Sweeper said I was weak, that I could have done better than what I already did.

She only said what she thought; she misunderstood us. Listen to her; she's apologising, crying even.

Destroying the town wasn't enough for her? A few charred remains is too much to be left after utterly obliterating several square kilometres of terrain.

She is Silver Sweeper, remember? Of all of our siblings, she is the one most likely to say something she doesn't mean, or say something with a meaning entirely different to what we hear! She misunderstood our question, we misunderstood her. She realised her fault when she saw how we were slighted. When a god begs you of something, you do not decline, not even when you are a god yourself.

Theá sighed and let her ears stand up again, having once again lost an argument with herself. She opened her eyes and let her gaze fall from the sky to the horizon. She shook her head. "Do not demean thyself, Sister. While you may not have my destructive powers, you are no less powerful or skilled than I. As for your question, I am all right. It took a lot out of me to regenerate a wing; it will take me but a day to fully recuperate."

While Theá spoke to Sweeper, Winterjet kept her attention on Bright Scroll. "Weirder things than a pegasus with the maw of a wolf? Huh... That's... mildly disturbing, actually." Her eyebrows knitted together as she tried, and failed, not to image what it was like to spend all day in a place where things so weird happened. At the same time she flexed her leg and the ice covering it shattered, removing the reflective surface before she set her hoof back down on the ground.

"You sound like you admire her a great deal, Scrolls," Winterjet continued after a short while. "More so than what one would expect of normal followers." She tilted her head to the side, a few tresses of grey hair falling in front of her eyes. "I mean, either there are the ones that follow them because they're divine but act, well, 'normal'," she spread out her wings, making air quotes with two of the primary feathers. "And then there are the fanatics that grovel and do everything, even the smallest and most ridiculous request, that the alicorn asks for... You seem like neither to me; you're more like a long-time friend, someone who genuinely cares for her."

Theá felt a presence. It was old, and well known. Had she not still been fighting with herself and trying to let her hurt feelings subside, she would have smiled. As it was, she simply spoke up without looking to where she knew he was. "You may be right, Arcon, but you know as well as I do that Mother is never far off. Should she so desire she could be here at this very instant, then give the both of us a spanking for being naughty."

Winterjet snorted, trying not to laugh at the bad, yet still funny, joke... though she had a feeling that Theá was completely serious.

Said alicorn turned around and first looked at Sweeper, noting the teary eyes and how Bright Scrolls was doing his best to soothe her. Her eyes became notably softer at that sight, and with another brief battle in the silence of her own mind, did what she knew was right. "Do not apologise, as it is I who should do so. I lost my temper as I am prone to do." Another sigh, one of many that day, escaped her, and then turned to Arcon, giving him a respectful nod.

"And it's also good to see you, Brother. As to your question, it was a infested with the Cult, not a living—well, living and sane—pony was there. I fought them for a time until I stopped to let my wounds heal. One Smiling Doll made it through my barrier with the help of a hoofful of unicorns and my wing had been cut clean off. The result of that is what you see before you."

The pegasus pondered the words of Torrential Waters. Then Dancer nodded in understanding, the cloud of despair rising from her mind. It wasn't that Sweeper was a idiot that couldn't see Arcon's flaws "Of course, of course. The Lady did not want to speak ill of her kin. She must be well aware of how her siblings view her, and wish not to harm their reputation," Dancer said. "She cares too much for them." She paused, and then began a new line of thought.

"You know, I never did give much thought to how Sweeper changed my outlook on the world. Three months ago, I thought that Equestria's doom was inevitable, and I would not see the Scholar's Project completed. So many of the order has suffered and paid the ultimate price. Two brothers I have lost to the wars, and of my parents I know not their fate. Really, what kept me going was that we could save the future at least.

"But Sweeper changed all that. Eccentric as she was, she managed to turn our world upside down - I lived to see the Project finished. That not only Equestria could be saved, but I could live as well. The Fall may still happen, but we have a much better chance to prevent it than ever before. Yes, I am proud to serve the Sliver Lady."

She looked deeply into Torrential's eyes, eyes quivering. "Thank you, great one. Your insight is keen and wise beyond even all the Directors of my order." She sighed. "Alas, my words do no justice to reflect the joy you've given me."

---

Sweeper looked at Thea, her eyes a bit red from the tears. She sniffed a bit. "I'm glad you're alright sis, and feeling better. I didn't mean to make you angry." She took a part of the bedsheet and blew her nose. And then cleaned the bedsheet quickly. The grey alicorn wanted to give Thea a hug, but decided against it. For some reason, Sweeper thought Thea would find the gesture embarrassing. Instead she said, "Thank you for believing in me."

Scroll smiled that his Lady was feeling better, though she wasn't quite to her… "normal" self. Give it a few moments he thought. Arcon, it seemed, didn't seem to care much about him and Winterjet. His attention was on his sisters. Figuring it was best not to interrupt such a meeting of the deities, he went back to Winterjet's earlier comment.

"Well, I guess we are friends, having spent more time with each other than any other pony. I can tell you the Lady's habits, and she could do the same for me. I know the cake she likes, she knows what brushes and inks I prefer. For her, 'High Priest' is probably 'Best Mortal Friend'. We trust each other, though…" He frowned a bit. "…though she can be quite the hooffull… and I wish she had a mane… and I get dragged to places without much say…" He shook his head. "Even in our disagreements, Sweeper always got by flank. Even in the darkest of moments she was there.

"I don't know the relationship Thea has with her followers. I'm sure it's different considering Sweeper. But I hope you and Thea develop an analogous companionship, a trust or bond that comes from the heart."

Meanwhile, Sweeper was almost back to her unusual self. "Ah, so the Diamond Dog was right about this place being a dangerous one. Ehh, no wonder you used the spell - a town full of cultists? Yikes, that must have been nightmarish. At least the land is safer now." A gust of wind blew through the dusty ruin behind them, creating a lonely howl. "I wish I brought some cake for us. Oh Arc! thanks for coming by. We're have you been all this time?"

Leaf couldn’t believe what he had seen. An actual alicorn in the flesh, it wasn’t possible. There had only been three alicorns. It just wasn’t possible. The green stallion looked out over the campsite. Most of the pirates that had rescued them showed genuine concern for the alicorn. This baffled him even more. Pirates were known to only care about their own personal interests and yet these ponies seemed to follow Crashing like a deity.

’Maybe because he is a deity.

Gilded shook his head of the thought,’No there were no other Gods save for the Princesses.’ He turned to the fire he sat at, watching the flames dance in the breeze,’Or maybe there are.
____________________________________________________________________________________
‘नष्ट.’

Crashing Wave floated in cloying darkness that threatened to smother him. He knew what this was. How could he have been so foolish? He had given into his bloodlust and now it threatened to take control of him. With him he held at bay the combined rage and fury of the Leviathans. At all times he kept them in check and docile so they wouldn’t rip the surface above asunder. They were his charge and among Chaos’s greatest creations. True paragons of predatory might and with an almost infinite hunger, one Crashing shared with them.

‘नष्ट.’

’No ye won’t get free ye beastie.’ Crashing focused all his energy into holding the darkness back. He would be damned to Tartarus before he let that…that Thing take over.

‘नष्ट.’

Crashing tried desperately to wake up, even going so far as to resort to Breaking Magic. He had not spoken his native tongue in a thousand years but it still rolled off his tongue on instinct,“ मैं यह आदेश इन बंधन तोड़!”

The darkness shook around him but held fast against the alicorn. Slowly Crashing began to see through the darkness that which he tried to hold at bay. His Darkness, his Other stared back at him silent.

“नष्ट!” It didn’t move its lips but the intent was clear.

The God of the Sea held back the urge to shiver at the sight of it. Its fur a dark blue as deep as the waters of the Deep and its eyes pitch black, holding neither remorse nor mercy, only a thirst for blood and carnage. The mark which crashing prided himself on was blood red and dripped the crimson liquid. Smeel of its breath hit Crashing, the stench of a thousand rotting corpses and Faust knew what else. This thing promised to bury the world under the sea and letbit see the true might of the Leviathans. This thing promised to feast on the corpses of his kin, his brother and sisters. Crashing held fast and assumed a battle stance. He needed to end this and fast.

"Well beastie," Crashing grunted," We ain't gettin' any younger."

It bared its dripping teeth and lunged forward, ready to take control once and for all.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Deckhoof looked up at Charter with a goofy grin,” Well thing’s be great. We’re another day away from th’ island of th’ Crescent Moon.” He had to admit he found it funny how the unicorn could be seasick but then again Deckhoof had learned to walk on the deck of a ship. He had sea legs before he had ever seen land.

“Aye,” Grimwing grunted, not bothering to look up,” But we’re making slow time without a full crew.” He looked up at the sky a small grin on his muzzle,” But at least th’ weathers nice.”

Indeed it was. There was a gentle breeze in the air and the sun shown down pleasantly giving the ponies on board a feeling of peace. The Sea was in a good mood it seemed today. Suddenly the waters began to roil and churn, as if there was some great storm thrashing the sea. Deckhoof was slammed into the railing but held on with all his might. Grimwing grabbed ahold of Charter and held him down, his wings beating furiously to hold them down.

“What’s going on!?” Deckhoof screamed. He looked over the edge at the water and watched in disbelief as the water started to gain a red tint to it as though a kill had been made just under the waters surface.

“I don’t know but everypony inta th’ ‘old. Quick now lest we suffer a grim fate,” Grimwing order. He grabbed the unicorn below him by the collar and flew below deck. Deckhoof followed shortly. He was a little bruised but none the worse for wear. Grimwing was baffled, there was only a steady breeze outside but the sea was in a fit.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
“Hold him down damn it!” Washcloth screeched to her assistance as she prepared a heavy sedative.

She had been settling down to bed when, suddenly, Crashing wave had started thrashing in his bed, all the while muttering in a strange but powerful tongue. He thresatened to open his sutures with his erratic movements Her assistants, a pair of earth ponies, tried to hold down the alicorn but held little success at it. Softstep and Crosswinds rushed in when they heard the commotion.

“What in th’ name of Luna’s plot is goin’ on?” Crosswinds gaped at the scene before him.

“We don’t know he just started thrashing around,” one of the earth ponies said, his brow furrowed in effort to hold down the massive pony.

“Help em ‘old th’ fool down,” Washcloth said as she poured her concoction into a viel. Crosswinds and Softstep galloped forward and helped the earth ponies hold down Crashing. Between them they were able to allow Washcloth to pour the mixture down his throat. His movements slowed until they stopped completely. He still muttered in the strange tongue though.

“What did you give him?” Softstep asked.

“A heavy paralyzing agent,” the old mare grunted,” Learned it form a crazy zebra some thirty six years ago, damn annoying one too rhyming nonstop. Anyway it’s strong stuff trust me and it’ll keep him from opening his sutures.”

"But what is wrong with ‘im?” Crosswinds turned a careful eye at Crashing.

“I don’t know but whatever it is its ‘is problem to deal with.” The old mare turned to her assistants,” OI fetch some black tea. We’ll be ‘ere a while.”

Slowly, Torrential turned to meet the gaze of Star Dancer; A strange look of understanding in his eyes that wasn't there before. "My dear Star Dancer, what makes you think that Equestria could still be saved at this point? No matter how good a healer one is, one cannot heal or cure death." The alicorn came to a stop on the empty road, sitting down without taking his eyes off of Star because what he was about to say was very important and needed to be taken deadly seriously.

"The Equestria of the alicorn sisters Celestia and Luna is no more. The era of their rule has passed and the kingdom they forged by defeating Discord and by bringing order to the land is taking its final breaths. The disappearance of both Celestia and Luna two decades ago was the beginning of the end and everything that has happened up until this point has simply been the kingdom they left behind dying." Torrential took a small breath, preparing himself for what had to be the most important sentence he might ever tell anyone in this lifetime.

"This is not a bad thing."

Pausing for a moment to let his words sink in, Torrential explained what he meant further. "No kingdom lasts forever and sooner or later it has to fall down for one reason or another. Consider a humble camp fire. It burns brightly in the night and warms the world around it, but sooner or later it will start to fade away. However from ashes there will always be embers that remain long after the fire itself has faded and from these ashes a brand new fire will be born."

"Once this war is over, something new will raise from the ashes that was the Equestria that was ruled by the sisters of the Sun and Moon. Something new. The only reason this war is taking place is because there are ponies that refuse to let go of the past and they are coming into conflict with those that have accepted that the world is changing." Torrential was silent for a time, giving Star the chance to disgust this new found wisdom before standing up and starting to walk along the path once again.

In a slightly less serious but much more interested tone, Torrential asked "Tell me, out of all the major factions fighting for Equestria at this moment, who do you believe has accepted that the world is changing and who clings to the past?"

Charter was swabbing the deck, using one mop with in mouth and controlling another with his horn. It was a trick he and his sister thought up of to help their father. Nectar Sea didn't take to the sea anymore, but she still traveled far and wide. Her husband Summer Vista took care of the house in addition to his work for the Scholarship. He and Vast would try to find some way to make the chore's easier. It was almost a game to them.

As Grimwing said during lunch, the ocean was so beautiful. Even those off duty were taking enjoying the sunshine and breeze. Charter found himself pitying the poor sailors down below, who had to cook, prepare the cannons, or spray vinegar to keep the mold out. "Freedom is not cheap," his mother told him. "The sailors of the sea must work hard to earn it."

Then suddenly the deck began to heave. Charter's inexperienced legs buckled and he began to tumble. He was almost over the rails before a pony's hoofs grabbed him. Looking up, he saw Grimwing struggling to keep control. Before he knew it, they were under in the lower decks.

"So I'm guessing this isn't normal," said Charter once Grimwing was down below. His mother, when she wasn't traveling the land, told her of the sea. But he never heard of the sea turning red like that. "Thanks for saving me, Master Grimwing. You alright Master Deckhoof?"

---

Dancer thought for it a while about Torrential's question. "Of the Houses? Probably Moon and Stars, always focused on the Sister's rule… or at least what the Archmagister dreams of. The Celestia I meet would have never enslaved her ponies. Twilight hordes the vaults to herself, puts a lesser power alicorn on the throne, silence anyone who disagrees. She perverted the past to suit her own needs.

"Of those who adapted to the change the most… Earthborn. I find Applejack's apostasy to be awful act, one that even most of Earthborn's citizens doesn't agree with. But the Supreme Commander isn't one to lie to herself - she knows the world has changed. And she's doing something about it." She sighed.

"You're right, there is no going back. Too many have died, too much was lost, even with the order's attempts. The friendship of the Six has been long asunder. Even if the Sisters did return, that past is gone. I suppose we knew that already, otherwise the Scholarship wouldn't exist.

"I suppose it's more accurate to say that our hope now is that Fall won't be a Demise. Before Sweeper, our prognosticators predicted total disaster - megadeath levels and a fall to savagery, far worse than even pre-Equestrian societies. The brick would be considered high technology, and the concept of writing the pinnacle of magic. A state of barbarism lasting centuries.

"The future remains unsure, really. Some like Academician Žemaitukas think the Alicorns may only speed up the fall. But… Sweeper's aid alone has managed to complete our project. Our predictions are not as grim, and our spirits are higher. The Fall instead will lead to a Rebirth, as you said.

"Sweeper was wondering why you came, Lord Waters. Is that why you're here, to help bring the embers to life?"