private Whisper: The City Of Darkness

[Unicorncob 5,703]

"Catalyst was conceived in the aftermath of the Discord Crisis," Dr Dynamus started, launching into full lecture mode with obvious relish, "The core of the device is an immolation spell that draws magic from the environment to sustain itself..."

 

"Discord Crisis...?" Lavender muttered to herself, "That name... it rings a bell... a few big, loud bells."

 

While Dr Dynamus went into his lecture, she glanced up at her forehead. "Hey, do you know anything about that...?"

 

 

The Catalyst spell ignites any source of magic it comes into contact with, propagating through the ambient magic in the environment. Left unchecked, this can devastate a vast area, the magical vacuum drawing more ambient magic towards the device and spreading the spell even further, creating a raging inferno. When all of the magic in the local environment is extinguished, the spell ends. 

 

The unicorn let out a fearful squeak and sat on her haunches, covering her horn with her hooves. "Nope, nope, nope, nope..."

 

 

Zayoh took another step back from inside the room and sat down on the floor. "In light of my ability, I believe it is best for everypony's sake I remain outside the facility." He said before removing his bag from his back and taking stock of what he had in his bag, unfortunately he has used a decent amount of potions without a chance to make many more.

 

She watched Zayoh leave the room, and she really wanted to join him. But, with her tarot abilities being cancelled out by his, she wasn't sure what to do.

[Chaton 3,766]

Rushing the observatory doors open, it was immediately apparent that the Observatory was an observatory in name only now. The inside of the tower had been gutted and all the instruments removed. In their place, arrays of white magical crystals were arranged in concentric spheres around a giant red crystal several times the size of a pony's head that hung suspended in the middle of the tower, the covered glass dome on the roof the only hint as to it heritage. Dozens of ponies were working on chalk boards, changing the alignment of crystals or using any number of mysterious instruments to measure or examine the device.

 

 

Upon arriving near the observatory, Scarlett began to sense something, familiar. Too familiar. Way too familiar. She couldn't quite put her hoof on it, so she just pushed it to the back of her mind. And then she saw the crystals, and it came to her. These were megaspell crystals. Though none of the other ponies here knew so, she knew them too well. And they were using it as a weapon, again. And for the first time in 20 years, Scarlett showed an emotion on her face that was rare to see. Fear, for she knew exactly what they were capable. The most she could do was hope that they knew what they were doing.

 

Wilhelm's mouth dropped open as he stepped inside the structure. He soon recovered his composure, though it was clear he was suppressing a smile. "Ooh, this is interesting. A full crystalline array structure with multiple diversified outputs, providing upon activation an immense surge of mana from runically enchanted storage along what seeeeeems to be a metaphysical curve regulated by Goose Quill's tensor strength integral. But for what?" 

 

Well, this pony certainly knows their theoretical magic. I couldn't have put it better myself. Though, to be perfectly honest, I'd probably start explaining how to safely disassemble and safely dispose of it.

 

"Catalyst was conceived in the aftermath of the Discord Crisis," Dr Dynamus started, launching into full lecture mode with obvious relish, "The core of the device is an immolation spell that draws magic from the environment to sustain itself..."

 

"You are correct," Dynamus said, somewhat put out by the interruption, "Catalyst is a weapon. The observatory was ideally placed, as it has an excellent overview of the surrounding area as well as the space and privacy we needed to work. The optical devices proved unnecessary," Dynamus said, addressing Zayoh's question, "And I can reassure you, ma'am, that we are taking every precaution," he said to Lavender, "Although we are have a small, but critical, problem."

 

As much as she was worried about the power of this weapon, it came to her attention that this was far in the future relatively of the one she had visited. An immolation spell in a megaspell crystal was genius. She began to become more comfortable around the weapon, until Dynamus said that they were taking every precaution.

 

And then he said they had a problem. Well shit.

 

Appearing more confident now that he was back on track, Dynamus continued his lecture, "The Catalyst spell ignites any source of magic it comes into contact with, propagating through the ambient magic in the environment. Left unchecked, this can devastate a vast area, the magical vacuum drawing more ambient magic towards the device and spreading the spell even further, creating a raging inferno. When all of the magic in the local environment is extinguished, the spell ends. Our main problem is that the spell is, by its very design, centred on the casting crystal - which right here in Canterlot. Any remote-cast spell is itself consumed, as are all containment spells - once cast, nothing can stop the Catalyst spell save cutting off all sources of magic," realising that he should put a more positive spin on the situation, Dynamus quickly added, "Of course, my team is working tirelessly to develop a solution, and we are confident that a solution will be found."

 

"Given the imminence of the threat we face, his majesty hoped that some of your specialist skills would be able to shed new light on the problem," Albion said, addressing the group, "Although obviously the mission to deal with the demons remains your highest priority. He wanted you to see this first though, as it is our... last resort, should the demon host overrun Canterlot."

 

Upon hearing that the thing could be set off upon coming into contact with any sort of magic, she instantly cut off magic to her horn. Leaking magic was a bad thing at the best of times, but near this thing. She'd need to find a way to contain her magic. I should have started years ago.

 

Scarlett had an idea for the magic, though she figured that the ponies had already tried it. It was worth mentioning anyway. She walked over to Dynamus and put forward "I know you've probably already tried this, but a potential firing mechanism could be isolating the weapon segment from the collection crystal that collects ambient magic. You could potentially pre-charge a number of crystals over a few days assuming you could stabilise it, and to fire the weapon simply insert the charged crystals. That way you could control the exact radius of the blast as well as having an easy shut off by literally pulling the magic out of the weapon."

[Once In A Blue Moon 895]

@@Blacklight,@@Chip Circuit, @@Ethan Sawyer, @@Orion Caelum, @@Unicorncob, @@ForthEorl.

 

 

 

Zayoh took another step back from inside the room and sat down on the floor. "In light of my ability, I believe it is best for everypony's sake I remain outside the facility." He said before removing his bag from his back and taking stock of what he had in his bag, unfortunately he has used a decent amount of potions without a chance to make many more.

 

 

 

 

"That may be wisest," Albion said. Seeing the bag and its content, he added, "The royal alchemist is currently assisting with the interrogation of certain detainees, but his laboratory is just across the courtyard. One of the guards can show you the way, and ensure that you get whatever you need. We will come and get you once we have finished here," 

 

 

 

"So, let me get this straight. You're setting off this... Catalyst Device... inside Canterlot." His eyes narrowed. "The city with the highest population of unicorns in the entirety of Equestria." 

 

 

 

 

"When the alternative is leaving them to the tender mercies of the demon hordes, yes." Albion answered, his expression grim, "And not just for their own sake. We cannot allow the enemy to take another population centre and add it to their horde - Ponyville alone had a larger population than our entire armed forces by an order of magnitude, Canterlot has more still. We are going to lose a conventional war."

 

 

 

"So what you need is a way to distinguish specific magics - like the ones that the daemons possess - from the magic of Equestrians. Theoretically, you could do this, but in practice it's very hard, especially if you consider the fifth-grade overarching differential equation which governs mana fields."

 

 

 

 

"Indeed," Dynamus said, "Although weaving a selector spell into the casting array is theoretically possible, that leaves us with the problem of powering the device. All of these crystals contain unicorn magic, but if the spell only runs off daemonic chaos magic then they are completely worthless and we are left with no way of initiating the spell - in order to start a chain reaction amidst the demon hordes, we would need substantial range, which means a large initial input. Unless the hordes were already inside Canterlot, we're talking about a source of demonic power of a similar level to Discord to have a hope of it working." 

 

 

 

 

"Eldritch. You're using daemon dark magic to kill daemons. Or, at least, it appears so." His expression turned into a sardonic smile.

 

 

"The spell was developed through... unconventional means. There is one demon that was known for such spell craft, although given that he is currently rotting in the depths of Tartarus I'm not sure that he will be of much use."

 

 

"I know you've probably already tried this, but a potential firing mechanism could be isolating the weapon segment from the collection crystal that collects ambient magic. You could potentially pre-charge a number of crystals over a few days assuming you could stabilise it, and to fire the weapon simply insert the charged crystals. That way you could control the exact radius of the blast as well as having an easy shut off by literally pulling the magic out of the weapon."

 

 

 

 

"In the labs that was almost exactly what we did. When we know the exact ambient magic, and can control the input, we can calculate the weapon's range exactly. Unfortunately, ambient magic is not constant over a large area, and our target is an unknown entity - the demon host has an unknown concentration of magic, although we suspect that it is very high indeed. This makes exact predictions impossible and when the range, with the chain reaction factored in, is on average 0.3 meters per thaum we really don't like uncertainty."

 

 

Gesturing to another chalk board, Dynamus continued, "As Albion said, the device can be fired as it stands, although the blast could set most of Equestria aflame. Our plan of last resort, however, is not quite that dire. Shown here is an approximation of the 'Dead Zone Shield' theory, where a line of outposts between Canterlot and Manehatten is staffed by unicorns trained in the catalyst spell. On our signal, they will cast the spell, drawing all of the ambient magic in the dead zone into it and leaving the area clear of magic. This should act as a firebreak, and will shield Manehatten from the blast. Canterlot will be lost, but Manehatten and much of Equestria's highly populated coastline will be saved."

 

 

Edited February 23, 2016 by Once In A Blue Moon

[Unicorncob 5,703]

While all this talk of plans was going on, Lavender began zoning out again as she concentrated on... something.

 

"Wow, my predecessor... whoa, a whole weapon just to stop him? That's crazier than I am right now!"

 

Her eyes widened as she bit her lip as she continued to focus.

 

"So we keep keeping quiet about what we need to keep quiet about..." she muttered, and gave a small nod, "Right, lips are sealed, zipped and the key is buried under a house I plan to have contracted to build over it."

 

She was sure she could get an abridged version of the plan later.

[nolongerabout 403]

@@Once In A Blue Moon,

 

Sharp studied the diagrams carefully. Offensive magic had never been a strong point of his, preferring to settle his disputes with his hooves. From the explanation offered, and the diagrams, it was obvious that anypony left inside the blast radius would probably be killed, or at least horribly wounded. Mutually assured destruction, at least for the city. Sharp realised, he could not allow them to use the weapon. There must be another way, anything was better than wiping out the capital. And he was skeptical, with good reason. It was all theoretical. He furrowed his brow, narrowing his vision.

 

"I'm not sure about this. I can't profess to understand how the damn thing works exactly, but you're talking about sacrificing the whole city, ponies and all, to some theoretical superweapon. When I lead my guardsponies into a scrap, I like to give them a more than even chance of making it out alive. I wouldn't treat the common ponies of Equestria any different. This is gambling the lives of tens of thousand of ponies on something that could destroy the entire nation, and maybe not even stop the demons. It's all just theory, and I don't like it, aye, not one bit."

 

His gaze drifted over Albion. He had never trusted the mysterious pony, and this was just affirming this distrust. Anypony who even considered genocide as a practicable solution was just mad, in Sharp's eyes. And if that made the king mad, so be it.

 

"And by the sounds of it, this weapon will need to be triggered from inside Canterlot. Will you stay here to ensure the destruction of Equestria as we know it, or will you be safely behind that 'dead zone', mage? I can think of the answer. I doubt anypony triggering it will be able to escape in time. No, we should strike at the head, at these demonic copies of the old princesses. Cut off the head, kill the snake, I think the saying goes? Not let it bite you in the hope that you get a chance to strike. Last resort be damned, this is just plain destruction for the sake of it."

[Dust and Memories 557]

 

@@Blacklight,@@Chip Circuit, @@Ethan Sawyer, @@Orion Caelum, @@Unicorncob, @@ForthEorl.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"That may be wisest," Albion said. Seeing the bag and its content, he added, "The royal alchemist is currently assisting with the interrogation of certain detainees, but his laboratory is just across the courtyard. One of the guards can show you the way, and ensure that you get whatever you need. We will come and get you once we have finished here," 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"When the alternative is leaving them to the tender mercies of the demon hordes, yes." Albion answered, his expression grim, "And not just for their own sake. We cannot allow the enemy to take another population centre and add it to their horde - Ponyville alone had a larger population than our entire armed forces by an order of magnitude, Canterlot has more still. We are going to lose a conventional war."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Indeed," Dynamus said, "Although weaving a selector spell into the casting array is theoretically possible, that leaves us with the problem of powering the device. All of these crystals contain unicorn magic, but if the spell only runs off daemonic chaos magic then they are completely worthless and we are left with no way of initiating the spell - in order to start a chain reaction amidst the demon hordes, we would need substantial range, which means a large initial input. Unless the hordes were already inside Canterlot, we're talking about a source of demonic power of a similar level to Discord to have a hope of it working." 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"The spell was developed through... unconventional means. There is one demon that was known for such spell craft, although given that he is currently rotting in the depths of Tartarus I'm not sure that he will be of much use."

 

 

 

 

 

 

"In the labs that was almost exactly what we did. When we know the exact ambient magic, and can control the input, we can calculate the weapon's range exactly. Unfortunately, ambient magic is not constant over a large area, and our target is an unknown entity - the demon host has an unknown concentration of magic, although we suspect that it is very high indeed. This makes exact predictions impossible and when the range, with the chain reaction factored in, is on average 0.3 meters per thaum we really don't like uncertainty."

 

 

Gesturing to another chalk board, Dynamus continued, "As Albion said, the device can be fired as it stands, although the blast could set most of Equestria aflame. Our plan of last resort, however, is not quite that dire. Shown here is an approximation of the 'Dead Zone Shield' theory, where a line of outposts between Canterlot and Manehatten is staffed by unicorns trained in the catalyst spell. On our signal, they will cast the spell, drawing all of the ambient magic in the dead zone into it and leaving the area clear of magic. This should act as a firebreak, and will shield Manehatten from the blast. Canterlot will be lost, but Manehatten and much of Equestria's highly populated coastline will be saved."

 

 

Catalyst shield.png

 

 

Wilhelm dropped his pieces of chalk on the floor, where a unicorn technician floated them away for her own project. He gestured to his chalkboard, which was filled with incomprehensible equations and a drawing of a stick-figure pony standing in the middle of a circle.

 

"It's dangerous, but you could try this." He pointed to the first equation series. "Theoretically, you could imbue the magic with the will of a caster. Direct it, like a beam spell. But you'd have to have something for it to home in on, even with the will of a pony mage directing it - without some sort of automated framework, one's mind could break under the stress of containing such a massive spell."

 

Here, Wilhelm pointed to the second series of equations, this much larger than the first, and filled with scribbled question marks. "Daemons have been Marked since their generative point by where they spawn from. Tartarus, the deepest, foulest pit. Possibly, if you could isolate the magical signature of the Mark, you could give some sort of overlying automation to the spell. Make it feed from only carriers of the Mark. But the symbiosis of the mind and spell would still be necessary; neither the automation procedure nor the mage's imposed will could control the spell on their own."

 

The third equation series, on the other hand, was incomplete, and showed where Wilhelm's knowledge tapered off. "I don't know, honestly. At least, not now. I need more information... a test subject." His lips curved in a wry smile. "Where does one get a chained daemon?"

 

 

 

[Chip Circuit 1,842]

@@Once In A Blue Moon, 

 

Zayoh had a friendly smile reappear on his face coupled with excitement as Albion offered to allow him to excuse himself to alchemist laboratory within the castle. He nodded his head to the stallion. "I would greatly enjoy the chance to see such a lab, let alone to have spare herbs I could nab." 

 

The zebra was soon accompanied by another guard who led him back down the corridors, which being unfamiliar which such architecture Zayoh easily found himself turned within the castle, if it weren't for the escorting guard he surely would get lost.

 

Soon they reached the single door of the lab which was a plain door with a few reinforcements along the handle and hinges to keep out unwanted visitors. The guard opened the door allowing Zayoh inside where he found counters and tables with advanced alchemy equipment placed in specific places for different methods of herbal extractions and condensation of the mixtures. Everything was pristine and clean to ensure no contamination between different mixtures.

 

As Zayoh wandered trough the lab an archway was ahead of him that led to a large circular room with a glass ceiling. Through out this room was herbs that could be used for many different implications and concoctions. The zebra's smile only grew bigger as he begun examining all the different herbs that sat in their planters which were as large as tables as well as they appeared to be organized from medicinal purposes to experimental. 

 

Zayoh took his cauldron from his back and set it back inside the lab next to a Bunsen burner only to go back to the green house to begin picking out herbs he would need.

[Chaton 3,766]

"In the labs that was almost exactly what we did. When we know the exact ambient magic, and can control the input, we can calculate the weapon's range exactly. Unfortunately, ambient magic is not constant over a large area, and our target is an unknown entity - the demon host has an unknown concentration of magic, although we suspect that it is very high indeed. This makes exact predictions impossible and when the range, with the chain reaction factored in, is on average 0.3 meters per thaum we really don't like uncertainty."[/size]

 

 [/size]

Gesturing to another chalk board, Dynamus continued, "As Albion said, the device can be fired as it stands, although the blast could set most of Equestria aflame. Our plan of last resort, however, is not quite that dire. Shown here is an approximation of the 'Dead Zone Shield' theory, where a line of outposts between Canterlot and Manehatten is staffed by unicorns trained in the catalyst spell. On our signal, they will cast the spell, drawing all of the ambient magic in the dead zone into it and leaving the area clear of magic. This should act as a firebreak, and will shield Manehatten from the blast. Canterlot will be lost, but Manehatten and much of Equestria's highly populated coastline will be saved."[/size]

 

"But would the shield actually work? Magic is in everything. Which means that even if you draw the ambient magic away, there will always be a tiny bit left unless you had a vacuum. If the weapon is really as powerful as displayed, then even the tiniest bit of magic left could bridge the gap."

 

Wilhelm dropped his pieces of chalk on the floor, where a unicorn technician floated them away for her own project. He gestured to his chalkboard, which was filled with incomprehensible equations and a drawing of a stick-figure pony standing in the middle of a circle.

 

"It's dangerous, but you could try this." He pointed to the first equation series. "Theoretically, you could imbue the magic with the will of a caster. Direct it, like a beam spell. But you'd have to have something for it to home in on, even with the will of a pony mage directing it - without some sort of automated framework, one's mind could break under the stress of containing such a massive spell."

 

Scarlett was contemplating whether or not she should put herself forward. Her special talent was precision, and her adventured had left her mind relatively solid. Then again, there was probably someone more qualified.

 

Here, Wilhelm pointed to the second series of equations, this much larger than the first, and filled with scribbled question marks. "Daemons have been Marked since their generative point by where they spawn from. Tartarus, the deepest, foulest pit. Possibly, if you could isolate the magical signature of the Mark, you could give some sort of overlying automation to the spell. Make it feed from only carriers of the Mark. But the symbiosis of the mind and spell would still be necessary; neither the automation procedure nor the mage's imposed will could control the spell on their own."

 

The third equation series, on the other hand, was incomplete, and showed where Wilhelm's knowledge tapered off. "I don't know, honestly. At least, not now. I need more information... a test subject." His lips curved in a wry smile. "Where does one get a chained daemon?"

 

"So effectively you want the spell to run itself, with only outside influence bar control? And a daemon, that's what we need."

[Once In A Blue Moon 895]

@@Blacklight,@@Chip Circuit, @@Ethan Sawyer, @@Orion Caelum, @@Unicorncob, @@ForthEorl.

 

"This is gambling the lives of tens of thousand of ponies on something that could destroy the entire nation, and maybe not even stop the demons. It's all just theory, and I don't like it, aye, not one bit."

 

 

 

"No, we should strike at the head, at these demonic copies of the old princesses. Cut off the head, kill the snake, I think the saying goes? Not let it bite you in the hope that you get a chance to strike. Last resort be damned, this is just plain destruction for the sake of it."

 

 "Now that you know what is at stake, I have no doubt that you will do whatever it takes to complete your mission," Albion answered with a grim smile, "His majesty is very good at motivating ponies," Albion's expression darkened, clearly stung by Sharp's insinuation, "As for myself, I would kindly ask that you do not question my courage or dedication - I will serve the king in whatever capacity he requires, wherever he requires. You've seen me and my brothers and sisters - 'aesthetically displeasing' freaks and outcasts, one and all. Do you think that the baying mob will let us be when they lynch the king for destroying Equestria? He knows that we are loyal because we will not survive his fall, and his reign will not survive the destruction of Equestria."  

 

 

 

"But would the shield actually work? Magic is in everything. Which means that even if you draw the ambient magic away, there will always be a tiny bit left unless you had a vacuum. If the weapon is really as powerful as displayed, then even the tiniest bit of magic left could bridge the gap."

 

"Quite. If the spell passes through an area with lower ambient magic than is required to sustain it then it will start to burn out, so a large enough area of low ambient magic should be sufficient, but the dead zone theory remains untested, and given the circumstances will remain untested until the day it is needed," Dynamus answered.      

 

 

 

The third equation series, on the other hand, was incomplete, and showed where Wilhelm's knowledge tapered off. "I don't know, honestly. At least, not now. I need more information... a test subject." His lips curved in a wry smile. "Where does one get a chained daemon?"

 

 

 

"So effectively you want the spell to run itself, with only outside influence bar control? And a daemon, that's what we need."

 

 

"If you're serious..." Dynamus started, giving them both an incredulous look, "We have two options. One is to try and capture one of the demons from Resh's army. We'll need one of the more powerful ones - one of the alicorn-demons, in fact, if we want to have anything like enough power to work with. Needless to say, seizing a general from the middle of a horde of their soldiers will be no small feat. The alternative is to find one of the progenitor demons and to bring them here. Resh is one, and there are a handful of others - Abath, Torash, Malu, Ideorth... most of these are incredibly powerful, and roam Tartarus freely, but there is one who is bound. Tirek is imprisoned deep in Tartarus, put there by Princess Sparkle herself. More importantly, she recorded where he was bound and how to reach him - to put him back, should he escape again, but it will serve us just as well in kidnapping him."

 

"I have reason to suspect that Malu is not in Tartarus," Albion interjected, "Or, at least that he won't be for much longer. The cult of Malu has been incredibly active since the princesses disappeared. We have several of them in the cells; they may know something about where Malu can be found, or at least what the cult is up to. I also suspect that Crystal Spark is tied up in this - Malu is best known for deception and trickery, and to have one of the tarot fall to chaos at such a key moment is deeply troubling."

 

 

 

Zayoh took his cauldron from his back and set it back inside the lab next to a Bunsen burner only to go back to the green house to begin picking out herbs he would need.

 

The greenhouse extended into what was left of the famous Canterlot gardens, with several separate sections with magically regulated environments. A huge cataloge of the greenhouse's contents was kept in the laboratory, listing all manner of flora from rock-pool algae found only in the mountains of Yakistan to fluorescent fungi from caves deep in the Everfree. The gardener was arguing with the pilot of an airship moored above the castle in such a way as to cast shade on the greenhouse, and the guards were happy to let Zayoh come and go as he wished, although one of them advised him to keep a record of all the plants he used - the royal alchemist had an infamously short temper, especially when it came to record keeping.

Edited February 24, 2016 by Once In A Blue Moon

[Unicorncob 5,703]

Lavender paid some attention to Albion's information regarding the demon tarot monster things, and flicked her ears as the voice spoke up again.

"How could anypony miss you?" She commented, then blinked, "Well, I kinda missed you before when you stopped talking... I never really thought about why those two follow me, I just figured they like me. I mean, I like them. They're pretty nice." She shrugged.

 

She then grinned at its next comment. "I like making funny smells."

 

She trotted off in pursuit of Zayoh toward the laboratory. A guard travelled with her as an escort, but she seemed to know exactly where she was going.

 

She found herself at the laboratory, and ooh'd with curiosity at the science going on. She gave a beaker a tap with her hoof, like a curious foal, before spotting the zebra and trotting up to him.

 

"Hello there, my striped rhyming friend," she chirped, teeth bared in a grin, "I thought we could make some beautiful, funny smelling science together."

[Chip Circuit 1,842]

@@Unicorncob, 

 

Zayoh was working away with his cauldron sitting on a Bunsen stand with a lit Bunsen burner heating the bottom of it. He was tossing in specific herbs that would push the mixture toward the potion result he desired.

 

Soon the Zebra  curiously turned his head around as he heard a familiar voice to see Lavender had came to the lab. "You want to help me with my potion?" He questioned slightly bewildered since he figured nopony in the group liked him. "I certainly appreciate the notion."

[Unicorncob 5,703]

Zayoh was working away with his cauldron sitting on a Bunsen stand with a lit Bunsen burner heating the bottom of it. He was tossing in specific herbs that would push the mixture toward the potion result he desired.

 

Soon the Zebra  curiously turned his head around as he heard a familiar voice to see Lavender had came to the lab. "You want to help me with my potion?" He questioned slightly bewildered since he figured nopony in the group liked him. "I certainly appreciate the notion."

 

Lavender beamed at Zayoh's being happy with her presence. Not very many ponies were welcome to her in a laboratory environment. At least, not after the first time.

 

She looked at the herbs and gave them a little sniff. "Ahh, fine choices! What will we be brewing today, professor?" She asked, pattering her hooves on the tabletop.

[Dust and Memories 557]

 

 

"If you're serious..." Dynamus started, giving them both an incredulous look, "We have two options. One is to try and capture one of the demons from Resh's army. We'll need one of the more powerful ones - one of the alicorn-demons, in fact, if we want to have anything like enough power to work with. Needless to say, seizing a general from the middle of a horde of their soldiers will be no small feat. The alternative is to find one of the progenitor demons and to bring them here. Resh is one, and there are a handful of others - Abath, Torash, Malu, Ideorth... most of these are incredibly powerful, and roam Tartarus freely, but there is one who is bound. Tirek is imprisoned deep in Tartarus, put there by Princess Sparkle herself. More importantly, she recorded where he was bound and how to reach him - to put him back, should he escape again, but it will serve us just as well in kidnapping him."

 

"I have reason to suspect that Malu is not in Tartarus," Albion interjected, "Or, at least that he won't be for much longer. The cult of Malu has been incredibly active since the princesses disappeared. We have several of them in the cells; they may know something about where Malu can be found, or at least what the cult is up to. I also suspect that Crystal Spark is tied up in this - Malu is best known for deception and trickery, and to have one of the tarot fall to chaos at such a key moment is deeply troubling."

 

 

Wilhelm rubbed his hooves together in excitement. "Choices, choices! Of course, we'd need immense power, for the stronger the daemon is, the larger and more obvious its Mark, and the easier it'll be to isolate it. On one hoof, we could go for the alicorn-daemons; it'd be harder than the other choices, but it'd have the side effect of throwing the Horde into disarray, buying us valuable time." Here, he put up one hoof.

 

"On the other hoof, we have Malu. It is likely very powerful, so it will be harder to defeat it on its own, but it has the benefit - for us - of not being surrounded by an army. Plus, whatever effect it has on Crystal might be dispelled." Wilhelm put up another hoof, now leaning back on his hind legs.

 

"And lastly, we have Tirek. If we can get into Tartarus, he'll be the easiest of all to find and take, and he was the daemon who originally made the type of magic that the Catalyst Device used. He'd be invaluable for our research, but if we take him, we don't get any of the positive benefits that getting Malu or one of the alicorn-daemons would give us." Wilhelm put up a third hoof, now hovering in the air with beats of his wings. He set himself down on the floor after a few moments and smiled.

 

"Choices, choices..."

[Chip Circuit 1,842]

Zayoh looked to Lavender slightly confused at why she would call him professor. "I'm no professor not do I have any degree, I am just a simple zebra with a spiritual affinity which I'm sure you would agree." He said still stirring the mixture inside his cauldron. "But I have just finished a Radiant flash potion that I keep around my throat, which is generally hidden within my overcoat." 

 

The zebra grabbed a few more herbs and tossed them into the cauldron. "At the moment I am brewing two potions that will restore one's vitality." He said before looking back to her. "Also if you take any herbs write them down on the inventory list as a formality." He said pointing a hoof to the list beside the entrance of the garden.

[Unicorncob 5,703]

Zayoh looked to Lavender slightly confused at why she would call him professor. "I'm no professor not do I have any degree, I am just a simple zebra with a spiritual affinity which I'm sure you would agree." He said still stirring the mixture inside his cauldron. "But I have just finished a Radiant flash potion that I keep around my throat, which is generally hidden within my overcoat." 

 

The zebra grabbed a few more herbs and tossed them into the cauldron. "At the moment I am brewing two potions that will restore one's vitality." He said before looking back to her. "Also if you take any herbs write them down on the inventory list as a formality." He said pointing a hoof to the list beside the entrance of the garden.

 

"A Radiant Flash Potion you say?" Lavender asked, getting closer to Zayoh and sniffing around his neck, "Maybe I could see it sometime today?"

 

...ooh, he's got me doing it now~

 

She grinned and trotted over to the garden and had a look around.

 

"Lemme see... I'll have this, and some of these, one of that, and I dunno what this thing is but never too late to learn!"

 

She trotted back inside, marked her items on the chart and went to a vacant bunsen burner, turning it on and readying some beakers.

[Chaton 3,766]

"Quite. If the spell passes through an area with lower ambient magic than is required to sustain it then it will start to burn out, so a large enough area of low ambient magic should be sufficient, but the dead zone theory remains untested, and given the circumstances will remain untested until the day it is needed," Dynamus answered.

"But is there not the option of creating a secondary spell. A series of mini-catalysts that draw magic in and keep it, creating the dead zone, and then release the magic after the event is over. It could work, and still replenish a small amount of magic after the Catalyst has used it all."

 

"If you're serious..." Dynamus started, giving them both an incredulous look, "We have two options. One is to try and capture one of the demons from Resh's army. We'll need one of the more powerful ones - one of the alicorn-demons, in fact, if we want to have anything like enough power to work with. Needless to say, seizing a general from the middle of a horde of their soldiers will be no small feat. The alternative is to find one of the progenitor demons and to bring them here. Resh is one, and there are a handful of others - Abath, Torash, Malu, Ideorth... most of these are incredibly powerful, and roam Tartarus freely, but there is one who is bound. Tirek is imprisoned deep in Tartarus, put there by Princess Sparkle herself. More importantly, she recorded where he was bound and how to reach him - to put him back, should he escape again, but it will serve us just as well in kidnapping him."

 

"I have reason to suspect that Malu is not in Tartarus," Albion interjected, "Or, at least that he won't be for much longer. The cult of Malu has been incredibly active since the princesses disappeared. We have several of them in the cells; they may know something about where Malu can be found, or at least what the cult is up to. I also suspect that Crystal Spark is tied up in this - Malu is best known for deception and trickery, and to have one of the tarot fall to chaos at such a key moment is deeply troubling."

 

Neither of these options seemed particularly pleasant. But they were probably necessary. Hopefully she wouldn't have to kill.

[Chip Circuit 1,842]

"Did you not see me use it back in ponyville not to long ago? I used my last one to help us in our escape by blinding or foe." He said still stirring his pot until the mixture begun to simmer at a steady pace. He grabbed a small vial that he had sitting on the counter beside his cauldron in his mouth. Tipping his head he poured a single drop into the mixture and once the drop plunged into the mixture the grey fluid inside the cauldron quickly turned to a vibrant red.

 

The zebra smiled at the mixture inside the cauldron and took it off the fire to begin letting it cool so he could bottle it.

[Once In A Blue Moon 895]

"But is there not the option of creating a secondary spell. A series of mini-catalysts that draw magic in and keep it, creating the dead zone, and then release the magic after the event is over. It could work, and still replenish a small amount of magic after the Catalyst has used it all."

 

 

"Hmmm... the 'magic wells' would need to be outside the blast radius, but in theory..." Dynamus murmured to himself. Several other technicians and scientists had wandered over by this point, and with much waving of hooves, discussion of magical saturation, crystalline density, claims of impossibility and revolutionising magi-tech charging devices a diagram had been drawn and a consensus reached.

 

"If a high-speed magical entrapment spell could be developed.." Dynamus began.

 

"...And crystals of sufficient density to contain the dead zone's magic..." another technician interjected,

 

"... then the catalyst spell could be funneled in a particular direction," Dynamus concluded, "Much like the Manehatten deadzone theory, we can't test it out on a grand scale, but it's as good a route as any we have at the moment. Now, the problem is that, as it stands, no such spell exists. Catalyst isn't a suitable spell as it propagates through magic and uses it up through spellcasting - in effect, the spell re-casts itself as it spreads to more magical energy, much like fire spreading through a fuel. We would also need to relocate the device, but that can be arranged. No, we need a fast-acting magical containment spell to create the deadzones that will protect Canterlot - without it, the plan simply won't work."

 

 

"Twilight Sparkle had the most complete research records on crystalline magic storage, from her own secrative experiments going back to the earliest works of Isambard Bridel. If we could get them from her archive in Ponyville, then we might be able to develop something, although I doubt we would have enough time," a technician said, prompting a few mutters from the rest of the group, once again to the effect of 'impossible,' 'ground-breaking' and 'too short a deadline.' 

 

"Could Princess Sparkle herself do it?" Albion asked, cocking his head slightly as though considering something.

 

"If anyone could, she could," the same technician responded immediately, "But I thought she died in Ponyville?"

 

"We believe not," Albion said, "Although we have no way of checking. That we only face three alicorn-demons is a strong case by itself, though." 

 

"Princess Sparkle could be alive, and you thought to keep this to yourself?" Bramble said, stepping forwards, anger flaring in his eyes.

 

"His majesty deemed it appropriate," Albion answered, "Given that we also suspect that she played a role in bringing about this catastrophe. Not everyone would welcome his majesty's rule if they thought an alicorn princess had survived."

 

"Maybe we wouldn't,"

 

"Mind your tongue. Not even you are above treason," Albion shot back, "And as Princess Sparkle has not seen fit to grace us with her presence in this time of crisis, she has forfeited any right to rule. She never truly ruled, not even after her ascension, instead using her privilege to fund research projects, scientific expeditions and secret projects of her own. Celestia tolerated her eccentricities, and there was no denying she achieved remarkable things, but she was never a leader," he paused, drew in a deep breath and then exhaled slowly before continuing, "But she might be able to solve our problem. Our best guess is that she fled into the Everfree, although you should search her Ponyville laboratory and archives for any other leads, as well as the documents we might need for the magical containment spell. If you choose to pursue that route."

 

 

She trotted back inside, marked her items on the chart and went to a vacant bunsen burner, turning it on and readying some beakers.

 

 

 

 

The zebra smiled at the mixture inside the cauldron and took it off the fire to begin letting it cool so he could bottle it.

 

 

 

 

"Choices, choices..."

 

 

 

 

"The airship will be ready to sail within the hour. Captain Cloud Chaser will follow your direction without question. I shall remain here with the king - should you want for anything, you need only ask." Albion said, "Best of luck."  

Edited February 27, 2016 by Once In A Blue Moon

[Unicorncob 5,703]

"Did you not see me use it back in ponyville not to long ago? I used my last one to help us in our escape by blinding or foe." He said still stirring his pot until the mixture begun to simmer at a steady pace. He grabbed a small vial that he had sitting on the counter beside his cauldron in his mouth. Tipping his head he poured a single drop into the mixture and once the drop plunged into the mixture the grey fluid inside the cauldron quickly turned to a vibrant red.

 

The zebra smiled at the mixture inside the cauldron and took it off the fire to begin letting it cool so he could bottle it.

 

Lavender started plopping herbs into the boiling beaker, watching it take different colours. 

"Gonna make me some beautiful nice smelling science," she muttered, smirking and mixing the herbs, "I tell you what."

 

Mixing some chemicals and herbs together, she ended up with some kind of purple-pink substance, which she emptied into some of her personal vials.

 

"I have no idea what I just did!" She chirped with pride, but managed to note down the recipe anyway, in case it would be useful.

[nolongerabout 403]

Sharp looked round, at the ponies who were gathered here. It was not the king, nor the deposed (and apparently corrupted) princesses who would decide the fate of Equestria, but these ponies right here. He was glad to be one of them; anypony who had a say in the future of Equestria could consider themselves very lucky, despite what Albion had said about his tarot, and experiencing 'bad luck' wherever he went. But, there was only one sensible course of action, as Sharp could see it.

 

"Well, we can either fight them till death takes us, destroy half the country in the hope that they are stopped, or find a probably long-dead alicorn and hope she had a solution to our bloody problem. Should be pretty simple to get into Ponyville, far as we know the demons have left the place. And as much as I hate to admit it, just fighting them conventionally isn't going to work. I reckon we could find something, anything to help, at the old castle in Ponyville. It's better than risking our lives, and to that extent all of Equestria, trying to subdue one of those powerful demons. Better we find a way to make the catalyst more concentrated and controllable, and perhaps gain a powerful ally. I was stationed in Ponyville when Princess Twilight fought Tirek, you know. Tidy lass to have in a scrap, and no mistake."

 

Content that his opinion had been conveyed, he readied to leave.

 

"I'll be heading to the armoury, and anypony is welcome to join me. I'm sure we'll be needing weapons before this business is concluded."

[Chaton 3,766]

"Hmmm... the 'magic wells' would need to be outside the blast radius, but in theory..." Dynamus murmured to himself. Several other technicians and scientists had wandered over by this point, and with much waving of hooves, discussion of magical saturation, crystalline density, claims of impossibility and revolutionising magi-tech charging devices a diagram had been drawn and a consensus reached.

 

"If a high-speed magical entrapment spell could be developed.." Dynamus began.

 

"...And crystals of sufficient density to contain the dead zone's magic..." another technician interjected,

 

"... then the catalyst spell could be funneled in a particular direction," Dynamus concluded, "Much like the Manehatten deadzone theory, we can't test it out on a grand scale, but it's as good a route as any we have at the moment. Now, the problem is that, as it stands, no such spell exists. Catalyst isn't a suitable spell as it propagates through magic and uses it up through spellcasting - in effect, the spell re-casts itself as it spreads to more magical energy, much like fire spreading through a fuel. We would also need to relocate the device, but that can be arranged. No, we need a fast-acting magical containment spell to create the deadzones that will protect Canterlot - without it, the plan simply won't work."

 

"And by placing the crystals at the locations in which you want to protect, you'd effectively have a shield against the detonation." This could work. As much as she didn't like the idea of killing thousand of living creatures, it needed to be done. Probably.

[Once In A Blue Moon 895]

@@Blacklight,@@Chip Circuit, @@Ethan Sawyer, @@Orion Caelum, @@Unicorncob, @@ForthEorl.

 

 

 

Zayoh was working away with his cauldron sitting on a Bunsen stand with a lit Bunsen burner heating the bottom of it. He was tossing in specific herbs that would push the mixture toward the potion result he desired.

 

 

 

 

Mixing some chemicals and herbs together, she ended up with some kind of purple-pink substance, which she emptied into some of her personal vials.   "I have no idea what I just did!" She chirped with pride, but managed to note down the recipe anyway, in case it would be useful.

 

Some time later, a guard knocked on the door. He entered, choking slightly on the the colourful fumes emanating from Lavender's work and the rather more controlled but still quite pungent emissions of Zayoh's creation. 

 

"Ma'am," he said, addressing Lavender, "....Sir," he added, with a short but noticeable pause before acknowledging Zayoh, "I've been instructed to see you to the airdock. Your ship is ready."

 

 

 

"I'll be heading to the armoury, and anypony is welcome to join me. I'm sure we'll be needing weapons before this business is concluded."

 

The armoury had been greatly expanded since the king took power. Confrontations with the gryphons over mineral rights and disputed territories as well as skirmishes with diamond dogs had ensured that Equestria had a small but reasonably well trained and equipped force even before Celestia's disappearance, but under the king's direction the arsenal was being rapidly modernised. Pony-wielded firearms had been introduced, cannons had been standardised and large sections of the Equestrian military were being retrained with the most advanced weaponry the treasury could afford. It was therefore a surprise to Sharp to find the castle's armoury, usually the best supplied in Equestria, was almost half empty.

 

"Most of it's gone to the airfleet," the quartermaster explained, "The First Squadron's now armed to the teeth, with enough food for three months and enough bolts, shot and powder to fight a small war by itself, and the Third is due in tomorrow for a similar treatment. When they join the Second in Manehatten, that's our entire blue skies fleet ready to travel almost anywhere in the world, and conquer a small country when they get there," his tone of voice made it abundantly clear what he thought of that idea, "Still, I've been told to let you have whatever you want, so go wild. It'd be nice to think that at least one or two of these weapons will actually be used to defend Canterlot."

 

Not too long after, a guard arrived and informed Sharp that his presence was requested at the airdock.

 

At one o'clock in the afternoon, the group assembled on the airdock.

[Unicorncob 5,703]

Lavender watched the rainbows of fumes emanating from the bubbling beaker, grinning with a mix of achievement and foal-like wonder.

"I have no idea what I just did," she said, pouring the substance into some of her corked beakers, "But I like it~"

 

 

Some time later, a guard knocked on the door. He entered, choking slightly on the the colourful fumes emanating from Lavender's work and the rather more controlled but still quite pungent emissions of Zayoh's creation. 

 

"Ma'am," he said, addressing Lavender, "....Sir," he added, with a short but noticeable pause before acknowledging Zayoh, "I've been instructed to see you to the airdock. Your ship is ready."

 

She looked at the guard with the same grin, and finished bottling her concoction.

"Ah, a chauffeur," she chirped, making sure her things were ready and the station was turned off before trotting up to him, "By your lead, good sir!"

[Chip Circuit 1,842]

Zayoh's ears twitched at the sound of the guard entering the room and soon his attention was grabbed by the guard addressing the two who were still working in the lab. He finished his current mixture and carefully poured it into a vial, once every drop was inside the vial he corked the vial.

 

The zebra cleaned his cauldron in the sink only a few feet from where he was working. Once it was clean he hung it over his back by its rope and slid the last potion into his bag. "I am ready to follow your lead." He said as he walked up beside Lavender. "I believe I have everything I should need."

[Blacklight 118]

Ailbon's words echoed in Cura's mind. Greater mental acuity and focus but at the cost of it eventually driving me insane with the desire to help others...Suddenly this sounds less like a blessing and more like a curse. A frown forming on his face as he slowly raised himself back onto his hooves, Cura almost missed the nurse's quick nod and smile of thanks. After a moment, taking another look at the guard, a the small hint of a smile formed on Cura's lips as he swiftly recovered his belongings. However, the results speak for themselves. My quick actions, assisted by this "tarot" or not, saved that guard's life Maybe the results are worth the risks...pushing the issue out of his mind for the moment, Cura hurriedly trotted off after Ailbon, unsure of where the unicorn was taking him. The spartan decor of the castle halls and the conversations of the rest of the group made time pass quickly as the finally arrive to their destination.

Cura, who up until this point was paying close to the group's conversation, was struck unprepared as a pair of doors in front of them opened. The contents of the room were impressive to say the least. Dozens of crystals of various shapes and sized hung suspended around the room, all seemly centered around a red crystal the dominated the room. Around the crystal were dozens of different ponies doing an assortment of different tasks, none seemingly less important than another one. Taking a few seconds to take it all in, Cura turned back to the group, quickly noticing the mixed expressions of a few of ponies around him. The mare that had shared a joke in the last room seemed particularly uncomfortable. Though, what was most curious was that the ponies flanking her seem to bristle at the sight of her discomfort, scanning the room much as if to determine what was causing the mare's discomfort. Speaking of which, I don't think I've ever seen those two leave her side this entire time...I wonder why? He was distracted however, when Dr. Wilhelm and who Cura assumed was the lead pony on site began to discuss purpose of the room and while some of the finer points escape, after all advanced magical theory had never been his area of expertise, what he could gather quite frankly disturbed him. So if we fail, this is the last resort. A weapon that will not only destroy the demonic forces, but take a fair chunk of Equestria with it. A chill running down his spine at the thought, Cura took in the weapon with the somber expression somepony would give to an object that could everything he's come to know over these last few years. Giving a depressing chuckle, Cura gazed at the room him. Well at least some would say the stakes could scarcely be higher. However his small attempt at dark humor did little to improve his mood and now thoroughly uncomfortable with staying in the same room as their last resort, Cura chose to pursue his one of his earlier curiosities, the rather odd mare and more importantly the two ponies flanking her.

 

Catching her leaving the room, Cura followed her, hoping to at least question her about her companions...no guards seemed to be a better term due to their behavior. I can't quite put my hoof on it but something seems off about her guards.They're fiercely protective of her, even willing to face the king himself with barely a second of hesitation. That and something about their movements, there's t a certain amount of jerkiness with each of their movements, more than there would be naturally. Lastly, unlike the rest of the group, they've always seemed slightly dis-concerned about the situation as a whole, only ever really taking an interest when they felt the mare was threatened or severely uncomfortable. Rather strange indeed. Realizing that while he was consumed in his thoughts he had himself lose eye contact with the mare, Cura picked up the pace.  Rounding a corner he swore that the mare had taken, Cura found himself faced with an empty hallway. Undeterred, he continued along the various hallways, trying to catch sight of the mare. Finally, after what felt like an hour and with his frustration building, Cura entered yet another empty hallway. Well it's official. I'm lost...Now what?

@@Once In A Blue Moon,