In The Kingdom Of Hope [Concluded]

Even if Sugary weren't flanked by the accompanying guards, nor relying on his magic and sharp eyes and ears, he'd be hard to trip by virtue of having earned good legging from traveling through even terrain as well as uneven... But since he was watching where he was going, he slowed down once Fearful would be less difficult to spot due to the very light he cast, looking at him curiously as he got closer still. "... What are you doing...?"

Fearful glanced down at his hoof, before looking up at Sugary, and back down to his hoof. "I appear to be attempting to trip you. If I'm perfectly honest, I was doing it to get a good laugh, seeing you fall on your face. That probably would have eventually resulted in us fighting, and I may or may not have killed you. Which, all things considered, would not be a bad thing, given what I have in mind. Actually, now that I think of it, would you particularly miss me if I die in the final battle?"

Sugary's mind briefly went blank, genuinely perplexed at what he was hearing as he too looked at Fearful's face, then his leg, and then back at his face again. "... I'm not sure, but I hope I haven't missed much if you're talking nonsense right now, because I could have sworn we were all doing something important here... And before you talk about death wishes, I suggest you remember I've survived facing your kind. You'd have to find me taking shelter in a cold rainy day recovering from blood loss to qualify as easy prey... So why are you here and not with the rest?"

Fearful stared at Sugary for a moment before withdrawing his hoof. "You haven't missed that much... Miterre and I are friends now... I think we should just move on from this, and pretend it never happened..." He shrugged and chuckled. "Indeed I would... Though if it was say, my daughter who took you in, you'd probably find yourself nursed back to health rather than eaten. She has a much kinder heart than she'd like to admit."

Meanwhile in Canterlot, Isabelle sneezed. "Hmm... I think someone's talking about me..." She muttered.

"Anyway," Fearful continued. "I'm here because I was waiting for you. Now that you're here we can move on." He chuckled and began to head down the stairs, as soon as Sugary was following him of course.

Sugary thought it was odd Fearful had an answer involving his daughter over a scenario he just made up on the spot, but thought to keep it in mind regardless. "You two... Friends... If you say so... Now let's find the others, I have something I simply must tell them."

Following the odd meeting, they'd all once again get moving towards the group, and once again he'd call to the others ahead as he did earlier. He hoped the alicorns were nearby at least.

The stallion stifled a laugh as Mittere reminded him of her fetish. He knew that she wanted Sugary back though Blade was semi-wishing he wouldn't. Not because he anything against the unicorn, but for the fact Mittere seemed to get nicer when he wasn't around. It was as if she was trying to make up for the lack of goodness from her coltfriend. So, he tried to get a conversation started on something else even though he was never a really social person. "Strange that some much work went into the..." The stallion paused as he felt the heat came from no where. "decor." The alicorn only worried him a bit more. Blade shivered despite the heat. "There might be. Mind if I take the lead for a moment?" His attention constantly on the bridge to Mittere, obviously uneasy about their current situation. His construct also grew in brightness and strength as he poured more into it.

He couldn't help, but think of the dragoness on the other planet. She might have gotten sent back because she had helped him and probably wouldn't be pleased because of it. Not only that, the whole thing felt like a trap to him. There was nearly nothing there and yet the room seemed to be built for something big, yet it wasn't there?

Mittere just looked away and pretended she had not seen Blade struggle with his laughter. It was easier that way. Her gaze was brought back by his sudden shift in attitude. The stallion beside her had shivered, which likely was not good. She nodded along with his request however. “If you think that is wise. Do remember what happened the last time you volunteered? I do not thibk you shared the tale of what happened with myself.” Mittere’s ear twitched as she honestly thought she could hear Sugary for a moment, but his voice was gone so fast that it could have been in her head as she focused on the room around her and on the fact her tail was swaying. When the hoofsteps did draw close enough to be seen, Celestia saw it was only the princesses and their entourage of guards. Not a stallion she was looking for among them.

“Have you learned much about what’s ahead?” Celestia asked, ready for business, and not wanting to be slowed down like before.She made a soft noise as she felt the heat wash over her as well, giving her bad feelings that were not just the desire to itch. It was a kind of heat that prickled at the skin with a ferocity the day could not. The heat of the deep earth inspired dread in her. Her breath halted invisibly, but she willed her lungs back to their normal business as she looked around to those present.

“We have scarcely had the time to determine anything,” Mittere stated with a sigh, not wanting to show her offence at the question she saw as unreasonable for the reason she’d stated. “There seems to be no immediate danger, however, your guard wishes to inspect further. I have alread-” The mare stopped she was saying as more came down the stairs. Looking past Celestia, she saw a familiar a familiar unicorn and dropped the conversation with the tolerable alicorn in exchange for one with her mate. She called out his name, sounding perhaps the most excited he had ever heard from her.

“Fearful,” Luna said, not seeming very surprised. “You have decided to join us again I see.” She was for the most part acting as though the previous room had not happened. Hopefully he had gotten all of those silly grievances with her sister out of his system and was back to something normal. “It appears your wait was rather short lived. It is good to see your return.”

If Fearful felt the heat of the room he gave no sign as he moved past the main group. Hearing Miterre's shout, he stepped smartly out of the way, giving the two lovers a straight line to each other. He chuckled and gestured to Sugary. "He has an impeccable sense of timing. He walked in just moments after you walked out. And nothing else happened there. Nothing at all." Fearful coughed, before nodding. "I guess I'll head further on this time... I'll see if we're close to the target." He spun and marched quickly across the bridge, reaching the other side in moments.

The smiled a bit to see the Princesses catch up with them even though they had failed to do anything productive. Blade was tempted to ask where One had gone since he was no longer present or well until a few seconds after the Princesses' came. His smile grew as One returned with Sugary in two and snickered a bit at Mittere's reaction the stallion's return. He noticed that something had happened though couldn't tell what though it seemed to include everypony, but him an Mittere. Once, the vampony rushed off to the bridge, he turned to follow. "I'll follow him and provide a trail for the rest of us to follow," Yet even though he said it without looking to the others and walked off over to the bridge himself. His eyes would constantly glance over to the sides of the bridge, hoping not to see what he was expecting. It wasn't because he could fall in the darkness, but as to what could come out of it,

Sugary would eventually see more of the group, but to his particular glee, he'd see Summer cheerily making her way towards him. Perhaps he was a ways off from ever proposing to her properly, and had much to learn about her, but he was nonetheless happy as could be to be greeted by her as he finally moved further ahead of the guards escorting him so he could greet her with a hug and a nuzzle. He wouldn't even mind if she happened to have a slightly runny nose if she were still bothered from the cold of the earlier rooms still. "Madam, it's so good to see you again! I'm glad you're well. I'm sure some are wondering what happened to me though, so please come with me over to the Princesses. There's something I need to tell them, and you, more than anyone else..."

Mittere herself was quick to wrap herself around the stallion, the worry she had about him now vanished, crushed under the weight of the stallion's strong hug. Her nose was not wet in the slightest, which was all thanks to the cloth she had been given before he disappeared. Figuring he wouldn't want that back she had discarded it however. She nuzzled him back as she moved alongside Sugary. "Have you learned something? You were missing for a long time. It was becoming rather worrisome.” She was of course, curious. She wanted to know everything that had happened to him as well as why it was of such great concern to her in particular.    

Luna had very little time to say anything to Fearful before he insisted on pushing ahead, so she just watched him as he went, before turning around to the stallion that seemed to want her attention. “Do speak pony if you have something that needs to be said. If there is some purpose to your story I shall be elated to hear it.” Celestia echoed her sister in the desire to hear what he had to say, only welcoming him back by name as well.

The guard that peered over the edge would see nothing, even with the help of the light he was making around himself. It looked to be a very deep hole below, or a supernatural one, or possibly the both. Blade's caution seemed to be unwarranted however as he made it across the bridge with no accident, though maybe it was that whatever might have been lurking was waiting until he said it was safe, and for more to cross.Maybe that was just paranoia though.  

The bridge held for Fearful as he rushed across. Everypony was eager to finish things at this point, but it was only him that went up ahead. It was on the other side that the dimness of the area would work against him. Despite the dark being his element, he slowly felt it pulling him in, becoming thicker as a magic laden darkness began to restrict him slowly as he moved through it. There was nopony in position to see or to help help Fearful aside from the approaching Blade, whom would have little indication of what was waiting if Fearful could leave no signal.

Fearful smiled as the darkness drew him in, the magic attempting to bind him. He let it pull him deeper, let it tie him to the ground, to bind him in place. Only when he was in complete darkness did he begin to laugh. It was not a pleasant laugh, it was not light, nor did it lilt as his earlier laugh had. If Blade was close enough to hear him, then he would hear the sound of laughter that was something akin to screams of the damned. Fearful continued to laugh as despite all the magic aimed against him, he lifted a hoof. For, despite the caster best attempts, they had placed him in an environment with absolutely no light, and if there was one place in which Fearful thrived, it was a place without light. "When I told Diurnae that the dark was afraid of me, I was not bluffing. I feed on it..." He whispered, and he closed his eyes, reaching out into the shadows around him, before drawing their power into him.

Sugary nuzzled Summer apologetically as he moved along with her. "Sorry about that, there was a fight... One hell of a fight... Actually, before I tell what happened, I need to do something else first." It was all he'd say for the moment as he got closer to the Princesses, pausing briefly before giving a light and curt nod to the both of them. "... Guess now you know what I look like too... That aside, I need to make sure of something... Pardon me..." Perhaps it was the fact he had just been brought back and still adjusting to his surroundings, or the fact he had seen what could have been, but should not be more than necessary, or perhaps it was the fact Celestia's face looked tarnished and injured in a way that struck him hard as to what he had seen not so long ago, that he moved closer to her, raised his hoof, and gently pressed it against her chest. Having already hugged Summer up close, he wanted to make sure Celestia was real, and alive. The look on his face seemed to be one with some lingering guilt.

Once he moved away from Celestia, he looked Luna over with the same hint of guilt in his eyes. One didn't just forget headbutting another so soon after all. He'd then try and, without a second thought, hug both of the mares. If he could have, he'd have added Summer as well, made evident as he finally spoke while pulling away. "My first message is this: All three of you should get along... no matter what. What I saw was a terrible outcome of the feud. I dare not think how close we might have been to fulfilling it ourselves... Second, I was met with a presence. One similar to the Phantom-that I'm sure is still following me-, telling me about how something much worse than... a vengeful Alicorn will be ahead... So all the more reason to cooperate. It could just have been another illusion, but it sounded pretty sure of itself. I advice against ignoring it." The entire time, his actions, gestures, and way of speech gave off the impression that something was making him uncomfortable.

Blade was so unsure about things. One moment, he was worrying about something inside of what seemed to be a bottomless pit and in the next, One seemed to have lost it. Neither was settling and would have felt better to simply stay still, but he couldn't just do that. He paused to look at the others in the group and gulped, they had three alicorns, one topnotch unicorn, and some guards so they were good, right? Either way, he had to keep up with the vampony in order to make sure that the others had a path to follow once they crossed, hoping that the gut feeling he had was wrong. Since, he wasn't liking the type of darkness that could make their strongest, physically, start to lose it, he made sure he was protected. He removed the construct and moved it to the floor of the cave before letting it move one in front of him. If things hadn't gone south by this point, he'd tentatively glance to the chasm before following One.

He never did greet Sugary, he'd have to do that later.

Though the shadows were being absorbed, Fearful’s position was not changing aside from getting stronger. This darkness had no problem feeding him if its desired end was accomplished. “What on this earth is it that you are doing?” A voice spoke into his ear, seemingly unaffected by the laughter, if it could even be called that. It had a raspy tone and every breath it took was deep, sounding tired and old, but still very much like it was serious. “Hm...I think I have encountered creatures like you before. Very amusing things, living far beyond what that body was made for with an interesting complement of abilities. I shall tell you what.” The voice had switched to talking into his other ear now. “I am going to let you free now so you can warn your friends and tell them to turn around. I’ve already gotten to know the important ones in my own way. As for getting them through here...good luck."  

Fearful proved not to need such charity as Blade approached. His cautious move had paid off as the construct pushed against the darkness and stopped it spawning, making making the making the way ahead lighter, though still naturally dark. If he pushed a little harder he could probably push it back further, though the same darkness was moving out from the walls towards him.

Sugary had Mittere’s attention when he mentioned there was a fight, which may have also been the reason he was now sans his armour. It was good to see his face properly, but as he had said, Some ponies now knew what he looked like that she would have rather kept ignorant of such things.  

Celestia looked down and frowned as she watched Sugary prod at her chest. Strange though it was, she allowed him to do what he needed to. He seemed go act like he had seen something. “You are forgiven,” she said rather cautiously. “You asked permission at the least.”  Both mares let Sugary have his way and hug them, as it might treat the slightly traumatised expression he wore. Celestia was rather willing to return the hug, while Luna gave a hesitant pat on the back to Sugary, not understanding as well as Celestia, having not been whisked away herself.  “There is only one among us who feuds,” Celestia stated simply. “I wasn’t the one to. nor would I want to be the one to set out to attack people without declaration. My sister too has been far too occupied in recent times and before to spare the time to waste.” Luna was not as innocent as Celestia was making her out to be, but at least the more speaking seemed to be telling the truth.”      

Mittere just huffed as Sugary told them how they should all just get along. Just whose side was he on? He even went as far as to hug the mares. She glared disapprovingly at him. Any point he might have had was now lost on her now he’d exhibited that kind of behaviour. “So you say there is something ahead of us? We were already aware of that,” she said, turning the conversation to the bit she cared for.

“Why is it exactly,” Luna began to ask, turning her gaze to Sugary. “That you are greeted by all of these apparitions? Do you have some kind of connection that other ponies lack?” She may or may not have been making a comment about the state of his mental health.

In all honesty, Sugary didn't expect either of the Royal Sisters to return his goodwill towards them. He was grateful they did though, since it helped remove the bad vibes he got from having it in his mind that something did go wrong with the both of them. He might have suspected worse of them before, before meeting but seeing the worst possible scenario for himself helped to mend that mindset.

Despite how Summer glared at him, he smiled her way as well as Luna's when asked what was happening with him and what he was told. "Madam, I saw you beaten badly when things went wrong... That also happened when the three of you were stuck with their own vendettas, or their own madness... Maybe it was intentional or not, but what I saw proved that none of you are invincible." Perhaps he was just stating the obvious, but hopefully it would make them more wary of why he was insisting on it. "That's why I want you to actually get along while you can instead of just tolerating one another... And yes, I have been noticing. You're all on the same team, but your not really thinking like a team yet, are you? Or did things change that much while I was gone...? As for why I see those apparitions... I honestly don't know. I don't know why a phantom took Madam Mittere's form to take me away. I don't know why she chose to aid me when faced with a trial, just before having to hear yet another voice... All I know is that they are and were there." While he was concerned over those that went further ahead, he felt it was important to make the group leaders try to not keep butting heads with one another before moving on.

"I am taking the shadows... And making them mine," he said quietly, before chuckling, and snarling. "You sound tired old man. Give up and they may show a little mercy. Me though? I will never give you that. You dare touch even one of my children? I'll annihilate you... There won't even be ashes to scatter to the wind. You may have examined my children, have torn them apart... But to say they are like me is to say that in understanding a parasprite, you understand a dragon." His violet eyes flashed red, and he drew Hope. Whilst it was an ordainary sword at heart, along the blades were tiny runes, virtually invisible to the naked eye. And it was along these runes that Fearful put some of his aura, the sword bursting into white flames. He swung the blade but once, the white fire burning through the shadows and the dark magic that bound them in place. "I'm coming for you old man, best prepare yourself."

He paused, the shadows likely destroyed now, and turned to face Blade. Leaning down, he whispered into his ear. "I apologise for the laughter, better our enemy thinks me unhinged."

Blade felt something different about the shadows. They seemed to be gripping him and his construct, yet his construct seemed to repel the dark energy to some extent. Her while it pushing the energy away, it was still there and might hinder the others from coming through or even make them mad, like it seemed to be doing to One. At first, he could hear the Vampony to talk to himself barely, but couldnt make out anything. The snarl made him pause and move the construct around himself, readying himself for an attack from a vampony. Once the blade was covered in flames, the thin layer around the stallion expanded into a small dome. As the flames worked through the shadows, Blade slowly eased himself and let the dome go back into the main construct underneath his hooves.

He hesitantly approached One and got the small tidbit of information from him. If this was any other day, Blade might have said he was mad and that there was no opponent to be fought. Yet, a lot of unbelievable things happened, the existence of One's species being one of them. "I doubt it does." He muttered before continuing on.

Not invincible? Mittere shook her head slightly. Silly stallion. The fact he responded to her glare so warmly was prove of that. It was the fact he was so interesting and alien that made up part of her interest in him though. He was a truly nice pony unlike some others. He was the good boy that did all of his homework, and that was refreshing, She moved to Sugary and put some of her weight against him, nuzzling his neck in case any princess got any ideas. "I find it flattering that your imaginings take on my form. I think it is one you have proven rather responsive to.”

“I think that everypony who is on the same side should be friends,” Diurnae cut in.

“It is not so simple!” The mare snapped at her grandson from behind Sugary’s ear, not really listen purely due to the insolence he demonstrated by interrupting their conversation. The enemy of her enemy was her enemy, nothing more. She was in this for herself, and for her grandson to have a chance to show his skills.

“No,” Celestia said, “This is the way. I’ve seen it before." She looked to Mittere. "You remember when we first spoke, do you not? How that felt? There have been faults on my part that I am willing to admit, I said I was sorry and that I understood your feelings without showing my remorse of understanding. Do you remember that dragon?" A small smile came to the races of both mares as they thought about how they were encouraged to fight by ponies who were dying to see some awe striking magic displays. "I think think we probably should have worked together there, and it would have gone a long to helping us. I think we can make that decision a positive one though. Had things not gone the way that they did, you may have not been here now, which means our friendship could not have continued into the present and beyond..."

"You positive, always more enlightened than thou..." Mittere sighed in frustration, nuzzling Sugary to urge him to move slowly with her.. "And that is one of your better qualities..."

"Was that..." Luna began seeming surprised. "A veiled compliment?" Of the many choice words she could have expected Mittere to level at her sister, those were not among them. She moved with her sister at the back of the group.

"Oh? It has feelings that I might have scratched. I would like to see you try to live out these threats, but you will sadly not get so far." Whatever it was gave a sigh as the flames burned through the shadows as Blade kept them away. It was an unlikely combo. No resistance was offered, but giving up was not quite in the dictionary of the thing if all the previous obstacles were taken into account. "A real immortal would know to fear me, but all you are is all corpse who doesn't know it is dead..."

As Blade trotted along further ahead, he wouldn't make it too far. With the shroud of darkness gone, the way ahead was open, but as his construct may have prematurely warned him, there was a barrier ahead impeding progress further, though that which could be seen through it highly opaque blackness was only a dead end overlooking the edge. Upon contact more of the writing that had been seen earlier appeared on the barrier, glowing to become more prominent. Unless Blade could make a way past, he would be stuck uselessly waiting on other members of the group to do something again, which might be a possible wound to his pride.

"Feelings are overrated, but yes you did scratch them. Just remember when your consciousness is slipping from your lifeless body that this corpse will be laughing the entire time." he chuckled as he prepared magic for something special. "Fear me youngling. And wait for my coming."

Once the creature was gone, he rolled his eyes and started the spell. "Look away Blade... this will not be pretty." He closed his eyes as the spell washed over him, refusing to scream as his bones were warped and reshaped. His skin tore and regrew, and his mane grew out in a rapid acceleration. Most painful of all was jn his nether region as his member regressed onto itself before reshaping into something a little more feminine. Left panting, Fearful now stood as tall as the Royal Sisters, towering over the average pony on long, sleek legs. Her body was sleek and streamlined, and her mane curled gracefully around her neck. Fluttering her wings gently, she glanced behind her as a swarm of metallic bats fluttered into the cave.

"Took you long enough," she raised an eyebrow, her voice silky as the bats latched onto her body. The armour that formed around her was a sleek as she, and featured no helmet. Turning back to blade, she flashed a quick smile. "Now then, any idea what that text says?"

Sugary was a bit surprised by Summer's sudden display of affection right before the Royal sisters, but he wasn't complaining... that is, until she raised her voice at her own grandson, making him wince and flop his ear shut while she kept tending to him. "M-Madam... There's no need to chastise him. We merely share the similar views on the matter..." He was also pleased to see that just about everyone from the group was fine so far, even if relations between the leaders was sketchy.

Fortunately, it seemed he had gotten through to them after all as they spoke of times long past. He smiled as Summer urged him to move, even if his movements were a bit sloppy as he was still adjusting. "Perhaps they aren't the very best of friends, obviously... but they also probably know each other better than anyone else, aside from maybe Fearful... That just might be enough for them to get along better, for now at least...""If nothing else, ladies... Think of this as a way to vent old grudges away, just not on each other, but against a common foe. It might be very therapeutic." In some ways, he was certain at least two of them was ready to throw down and fight. May as well encourage them to focus it against something likely worse than themselves. From then on, he walked among them, trying to prepare himself for a supporting role at least.

Blade watched as the vampony spoke with himself and decided not to question it. He soon felt his construct brush against a barrier and kept the darkness safe from his light and One's flames. "Turn away...?" The question came a bit late as she noticed the transformation begin and quickly turn to look at the very interesting wall. Once the the vampony went through his sex change, the guard would simply look her with a confused look, honesty thinking the vampony had turned into an alicorn until her realized there was no horn. He opened his mouth to question, but quickly closed it. It was not like anything he had done before made all that much sense, so why should she start now? "The text I got no clue." He went over to the barrier that kept his construct from advancing and leaned in to get a better look to see if he could understand any of it. "I can guess from just how things are going for us. Its either 'Warning: Monsters', 'Last Warning: Plant Eater Up Ahead', or 'Congratulations for not dying yet and here's another challenge'." He said with a voice that voiced how he felt, he didnt care anymore. People doing the things One did in a single afternoon tended to do that to someone. "Now, the question is if we tempt fate and go in alone or play it safe and get the others." Blade glanced at the demi-corn, or whatever race she was, behind him.

All three of the ladies remained quiet after Sugary spoke. They simply had nothing they deemed worthy of sharing with each other, though they could all agree they needed to move on. It wasn’t fair for everypony else to do all the work when they were quite capable. Celestia scrunched her face up slightly as they drew close enough to see Fearful change form. It nearly sent a shiver through her to watch, her active mind making it worse than it perhaps might have been.

“Yes, I agree,” Mittere stated, having picked up on Celestia's attitude. Mittere was a rather large fan of stallions, and seeing one magically disappear in front of her didn't sit well with her. It still seemed to be the same vampire that had called her friend though, through the theatrical performance that was clear. This gave her a chance to get a very light revenge. She trotted over over to Fearful and placed a hoof on his armoured flank. "It could do with with a little more tone. I assume there was more to your actions than simple vanity?” she said, lifting her hoof and moving back to Sugary.

"What appears to be the problem keeping us locked in this standstill?" Luna asked, taking a position beside Fearful, not seeming to not how he was a her. It hardly escaped her notice, but it was not too important at the moment, though she knew it might be a problem later, but in front of everypony there were some discussions you did not have unless you were as shameless as Mittere.

“Something close I’d reckon,” Diurnae said to Blade. “Still, you don’t need to understand it to destroy it.” Though he didn’t need to, he touched his horn to the barrier, smiling at the ticklish feeling it give him. His horn lit up with a yellow light, which he used to write his own message, which caused the barrier to disappear. He might have know more than he let on, though his hornwriting seemed to be a scrawled language of its own. “I sense the bigger barrier is up ahead, close,” he said, appointing himself as the vanguard for the few meters they could move past where the barrier had kept them. There was nothing ahead and only darkness below. They hadn’t come all this way for a dead end had they?”

Fearful chuckled and nodded to Blade. "You are most likely correct... I guess we'll wait and see." She said, turning to face the approaching group. Her mind flashed back to a much earlier scene that seemed to have exactly the same words spoken to her, when she was a he and he had just transcended his original body. In fact, as she recalled, it had been the exact same mare. She could only snort in false-annoyance and roll her eyes. "Of course it is, it always is." She didn't bother to modify it, she was pleased with it as it was. Nodding she spoke a few words, and a small black flame appeared in her waiting hoof. Unlike before however, there was no blood trickling from her mouth, and the ears of everypony listening were safe. "The vocal magic I use has to be preformed by a biological female. If I were to attempt a more serious spell as a male, then my head would have likely exploded, and your ears would be bleeding quite badly."

Fearful glanced at Luna, glad she hadn't brought up her recent sex change. "Good to see you still have your decency," she whispered so only she could hear. "Though I suppose you want a full explanation later?"

Fearful watched the barrier drop, moving to Diurnae's side. "Careful Diurnae... I sense a trap. Or a false wall... or a fake out. Or all three." Raising a hoof, she sumoned three small spikes of ice, designed to punch through the walls around them. "Let's see shall we?" She purred, and the ice shards erupted outwards.

It was at around this time that Sugary finally got enough of his bearings to notice something he really should have noticed sooner as he looked at the other mare before them, seemed familiar, and spoke with a different voice, but an all too familiar tone. ".......... I-... I'm not tripping, am I? I already have voices in my head, but why did-...? Never mind..." He tried not to think too hard on it, as he was already composing himself a is, and didn't want to have to keep trying to do so any more than necessary. That didn't keep his expression from becoming confused though. At the very least, he was glad to see Blade was fine still. "Ah...! Well met, Sir Blade."

The rest of his time was spent trying to examine what might be further up ahead, but it was getting darker and darker still despite all the heat building up slowly. Since there was some debate on what could be done to further deal with possible problems, he spoke softly to himself. "If we can't use magic to see what's beyond what we shouldn't see... Maybe we should ask from that who should not be heard... Phantom, you still there? Care to throw another clue at me?"