//------------------------------//
// CHAPTER XII: Scary Monster (and Super Creep) 
// Story: Special Illumination 
// by ponichaeism 
//------------------------------//

	The draconequus floated within the illuminated circumference of the magic circle, its mismatched, chimerical body comprised of animal parts seemingly stitched together at random. As soon as the yellowy eyes set into its elongated, horse-like face came to rest on Starswirl, they narrowed.
"Oh," it said with a sigh. "It's you. What was your name, uh, Splish Splash?"
A slow smirk spread across the unicorn's lips. "Starswirl."
Clover yelped, "Wh-wh-what is that th-thing?"
Without taking his eyes off the chimera, Starswirl called out, "A creature forged from pure disorder and chaos. It's sole purpose in this world is to drive ponies to misery and ruination and fragment the Harmony beyond repair."
"Ah, ah, ah," said the draconequus, holding up a talon from its eagle limb. "That's not true."
Rolling his eyes, Starswirl added, "Oh, and it's also attempting to set an Olympegasi record for the discus throw."
"And don't you forget it!" the draconequus said. It jabbed its eagle arm forward until it threated to cross the circle's circumference, where the light repelled its outstretched talon. 
Starswirl cleared his throat. "Creature of chaos--"
"I have a name, you know," the draconequus said. As it spoke, its voice gradually dropped into a demonic register. "And you would do well to fear it, Starswirl. Whenever you open the annals of this world and find a kingdom ravaged and wrought into dust, you read my name, for it is carved into the very fabric of history itself." It raised its lion's hand, then looked into its paw, surprised to see it was still holding a silver tray. Looking up at the pony, it held the tray out. "Cheese and crackers?"
Starswirl shook his head. "No, thank you."
"If you're worried about breaking the circle, I could just toss them over to you...."
"I had a very filling dinner, thanks," Starswirl said.
It shrugged. "Eh, suit yourself."
"Um," Clover said.
Starswirl and the draconequus turned to look at her. She looked like she could barely stand; her knees shook and quivered like jelly in an earthquake.
"Yeeesss?" the draconequus asked.
"I-I would like a cr-cracker."
The chimera lifted a single cracker and bent its wrist like it was holding a discus, then twisted in place and flung the cracker over the magical threshold. It sailed through the air and right into Clover's hoof. The filly's forelegs shook so hard she had to fumble around so as not to drop it.
"I'll be a shoo-in for the next Olympegasi Games." With that, the draconequus transformed into a giant boot with yellowy eyes. "Literally!"
A muted trombone popped into existence from nowhere and spat out a 'Wah-waaah!' before disappearing again.
The draconequus returned to its normal state and waggled the tray at the stone-faced Starswirl. 
"Sure I can't tempt you?" it asked.
"I'm absolutely sure. In more ways that one."
It shrugged, then extruded its serpentine tongue, swept all the little crackers into its mouth, and swallowed them with an audible gulp. It put its talons to its lips and kissed them as it pulled them away.
"Delish!" It snapped its fingers and made the tray disappear, then rubbed its hands together. "Now, so, so sorry to be a spoilsport, but can we hurry this up? I'd very much like to get back to the costume ball before they start the unmasking, so everyone can appreciate mine."
"What costume would that be?"
"Why, the one I have on right at this very second."
Starswirl cocked his head. "You aren't wearing a costume."
"Oh, I know!" It put its hands to its cheeks. "That's why I'm just dying to see the looks on their faces when they realize that. So...." It raised its lion arm and motioned in a circle. "....mach schnell!"
"I remind you, creature, you are bound to my will...."
"Tongue of Yaldagoath, blah blah blah, must answer truthfully, yadda yadda yadda. Heard it before, skip to the end."
"Then answer promptly."
Starswirl started ambling in a circle around the magic ring. The chimera revolved in midair to follow his progress. 
"Suppose, if you will," Starswirl said, "there was a unicorn whose horn was removed...."
"Thinking of making a lifestyle change?" the draconequus asked. "Hey now, I'm not one to judge. Someponies just feel like they're born in the wrong body." 
It snapped its fingers and, with a pop, turned into a beautiful earth pony mare. It threw its head back and let its luscious hair fan out in a breeze that didn't exist. 
"Fortunately for me," it said passionately, its voice completely unchanged, "that's not a problem. What do you think of me now, Starswirl?" It put its backside to him and gave its tail a shake.
Ignoring its efforts to shake him up, Starswirl went on. "But the horn is merely a focal point. A unicorn would still have the magic within him to bend the physical world, he merely wouldn't be able to channel it."
Returning to normal with another pop, the chimera sighed, slumped forward, and hung its mismatched arms limply. "Yes, he would still be connected to your precious little Harmony, and he'd still be receiving magic from it."
"But how could he use his magic if he had no horn?"
"Well," said the draconequus, huffing as if it the question were beneath him, "ever hear of trepanning? I recommend you try it sometime."
"Trepanning, hmm?" Starswirl craned his head back and looked at the roof as he pondered the implications. "A unicorn's body is like a closed system except for the horn, which is a sort of valve that allows magic energy from our sparks to build up and be released in controlled bursts. But you're saying that without a horn, there's a hole in the system that equalizes the magic pressure within and without the unicorn. Am I correct?"
The draconequus nodded. "Yes, that's exactly what I was saying. Well, if that's all, I'll just be on my way...."
"That's not all."
The draconequus stuck out its tongue and blew a raspberry.
"That would render the magic his spark is radiating into him useless," Starswirl mused, "as it wouldn't be able to build up in his body, but rather constantly leak out of him. But. An open door can be entered from both directions. Theoretically, wouldn't that mean he could also take in magic?"
"Yes," it said, bored, "but only if there's more magic on the outside."
"Hmm. So he would need an area with a much greater magic differential, to force the magic to enter himself. And then as he moves through the forest, from higher density areas to lower, the magic would then slowly leak out of his body, which would explain his aura of burning shadow." He looked at the draconequus. "Could he harness another type of magic with this connection, if he took it into himself?"
Its interest piqued, the chimera stroked its nub of a beard. "Hm, against the natural order? How very chaotic. I like it. What sort of magic are we talking about?"
Clover trotted alongside Starswirl, keeping him between her and the draconequus, which she threw nervous glances at. Hesitantly, she asked, "Didn't you say everything was connected? That all the energy was the same?"
"The Harmony starts out the same in its limitless state," Starswirl explained, "but as it creates the physical world, it splits itself into parts to dilute its strength and create balance. And since we are part of the world, everypony's spark only has the natural ability to control one aspect of it: earth ponies control the earth, pegasi control the sky, and unicorns control the natural laws underlying both of those. I can delve into the Harmony itself and draw power from it because I am attuned to its flow and my aim is to balance the world. A unicorn using his powers to wreak havoc and sow fear would most definitely not have that same connection." Starswirl looked at the chimera again. "The question is, could a unicorn, say, manipulate the earth instead of the natural laws, even though the energy isn't compatible?"
"I should think not. His, ahem, 'spark' wouldn't allow him to manipulate earth magic."
"Even if he were forcing earth magic energy into himself?"
"No. His spark and the energy would be incompatible, meaning no magic." Then, the draconequus said offhandedly, "Unless he's not drawing power from the forest itself."
Starswirl's ears picked up as thoughts raced through his head. "But that would mean....he's drawing power from the ponies? Could he do that? Is that possible?"
"Wh-what do you mean, 'ponies'?" Clover asked.
Starswirl pointed at the chimera. "When a pony acts against the flow of the Harmony, that friction generates its own sort of energy, am I right?"
The draconequus licked its lips. "Yes, though to me it will always be known as 'lunch'. When a pony decides to embrace their inner chaos, it creates a counter-energy that, to me and others like me, makes us more powerful. Nourishes us, even." It rubbed its stomach. "Mmm mmm! All that spoiled Harmony...."
"So this unicorn, he's feeding on that anti-Harmony energy, then?"
"Unicorns with wickedness in their hearts are capable of using it for malign spellwork," the draconequus said, inspecting its claws. "I should know, I've introduced it to a few of them. Unbalanced things do love an unbalanced breakfast. If this hornless unicorn is delving into your little Harmony, then maybe, just maybe he could use that to compensate for his lack of a horn."
Though Starswirl had spent a good portion of his life studying and theorizing about the Harmony, even he was struggling to wrap his mind around this. To help streamline his thoughts, he reiterated out loud, "So he's bypassing the need for a horn to do magic....by entering areas of the forest with high concentrations of Harmony....and using the universal connection joining him to the townsponies....to draw power from the anti-Harmony they're creating?" 
"Am I done yet?" the creature in the circle whined. "Can I go now?"
"No. Tell me, have you ever seen or heard of a forest spirit with a ram's skull for a head and an earthen body?"
"Can't say that I have."
"Hmm. So if this unicorn is relying on the townsponies for his magical abilities, would that allow him to manipulate the earth? To create creatures from the dirt by fusing unicorn magic and earth pony magic?"
"If he's using his powers to channel magic from earth ponies, through your little connection thing, then I think it might be possible."
More to himself than to the draconequus, Starswirl said, "So he's using the apparition of the forest spirit to get the earth ponies who believe in it to worship it, which quickens the contamination of the forest with their fear. Ingenious. Fiendish, but ingenious."
"My kind of pony," the chimera said, smiling.
Clover's head dropped and her searching eyes went to the floor, deep in thought. Then she looked up at Starswirl and asked, "If this unicorn is getting power from everypony, then why doesn't he appear in town? Isn't that where their fear is strongest?"
"Because," Starswirl said, "untamed forests like this one are so full of life, all packed together, that their strength far eclipses even the largest cities. That's why he roams the woods, where the Harmony is densest. There's so much magic out here that if even a fraction were spoiled, it would generate more anti-Harmony in a week than the whole of Hollowed Ground could in a year."
The draconequus glared at them. "Yes, you ponies do love overstating your importance in the world, don't you?"
"I doubt the town can even support the unicorn's magic-making abilities right now," Starswirl said, "except perhaps in the dead of night, when ponies give themselves over most completely to the universal connection. Their fears feed his dark powers, and both have been building up for a long time now, I think."
"Wait," Clover said, frowning, "I thought the darkness was a good thing?"
"Hmm? Oh, sorry, that's one of the analogies I told you about, the ones we must rely on when language fails us. Since we say the Harmony has a radiance, we also say discord has a darkness. A more proper term for it would be chaos, even though both darkness and chaos, when in balance, serve the Harmony. That's the drawback of creating a melange out of concepts from different traditions; it seems like half of them have different words for the same concept, while the other half have the same word for wildly different concepts, although it's slightly less confusing if you know which context it's being used in. Do you understand what I'm talking about?"
"You're making my head ache, Starswirl."
"Good. At least there's something in there to be hurt, which I was seriously doubting earlier."
"Ahem," the draconequus said, "speaking of chaos, remember me?"
Starswirl faced it and narrowed his eyes. He said, "Unfortunately, yes."
The draconequus waved its lion's paw dismissively. "Oh, lighten up, would you? Put a little chaos in your life. It'd do you good! Really, I'm not so bad once you get to know me." It magicked long eyelashes into existence and fluttered its yellowy eyes.
Starswirl stopped circling the magic seal and smirked. "You surely seem to enjoy turning into a mare very much. Is there something you'd like to tell us?"
"Oh, pish-posh! You're the one filling that poor little filly's head with nonsense about 'balance', and you're going to condemn me for being in touch with my feminine side?"
"Heaven forbid," Starswirl said dryly.
The draconequus leered at him, its lips lifting up to reveal its lone fang. "I always take that as a challenge. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a costume ball in dire need of some chaos that I need to be getting back to."
"Your deft hand at work, carving history, I take it."
The draconequus shrugged. "I needed to blow off some steam. What are you going to do about it? You can't stop me for long."
Calmly and assuredly, Starswirl said, "One day, I will. I'll find a way to seal you and your chaotic power up permanently, and stop you wreaking your havoc on everypony."
"I would like to see you try," the draconequus said, folding its mismatched arms.
"Or if not me, some other lover of peace and harmony who will follow in my hoofsteps. I will spread my ideas to every corner of this world, and somepony somewhere will find a way to stop you. You will have to burn every library from here to Cath-Hay to stop them from knowing your weakness."
"Hey, I resent that! I would never burn a book." The draconequus grinned. "I like them medium rare. So go ahead, spread your little notions. More of a banquet for me." 
Grinning broadly to match the chimera, Starswirl said, "I'll make you eat those words, creature of chaos."
The draconequus rolled its yellowy eyes. "Oh, very funny."
Mentally releasing his hold over the circle, Starswirl said, "Be gone from my sight."
The light streaming out of the magic ring faded, and the draconequus faded with it, waving its fingers.
"Be seeing you," it said.
Its disembodied voice echoed throughout the now-darkened shed before dying out. Starswirl stood rooted in place for a moment, savoring the silence and calmness and marshaling his thoughts.
"That....creeped me out," Clover said, "especially how it could change itself into whatever it wanted."
As Starswirl walked over to a work bench, he said, "It was chaos in action."
"When I saw how silly it was, I thought you'd be making jokes too, like you usually do, but you barely made any--"
She jumped so suddenly that Starswirl whipped his head around to face her, his heart leaping into his throat. But he saw the filly smiling excitedly and rocking back and forth on her hooves.
"You were balancing it!" she said. "It was all joking, so you were all serious to balance it out!"
Starswirl beamed. "Yes, I was. Now clean the chalk circle off the floor."
The smile on her face froze. Gradually, it fell away as she sank back down to the ground and groaned. 
"Don't complain, Clover," he said brusquely, turning back to the workbench and magically opening the drawers. "I didn't ask you to follow me. Now go on, we don't want anypony to know we were here."
"How am I supposed to clean it off?"
With a casual glance at bucket full of dirty water and a filthy rag sitting in the corner, Starswirl magically levitated them over to her and set them down at her hooves.
"What are you going to do?" she asked suspiciously.
"Aha!" he said, levitating a piece of parchment, a quill, and a bottle of ink out of a drawer. "I have something I must write something down."


As they walked down the dirt road towards the forest's edge, Starswirl looked over the unfurled parchment hovering in front of him. 
Clover's eyes, meanwhile, darted to the treeline every few seconds. "S-so what do we do now?" she asked. "About that unicorn, I mean."
Starswirl glanced down at her. "What's this 'we'? I'm still very cross with you, you know. Following me out into the forest in the dead of night like that!"
"But-but-!"
"Honestly, I haven't seen such reckless behavior from a pony since I was a foal, when I would've done the exact same thing."
"But--!" She shook her head. "Wait, what?"
Starswirl winked at her in the light of the full moon. Then, he said heavily, "But Clover, promise me you won't do anything like this again unless I permit it, alright?"
"Oh, alright," she said with a groan. "I promise."
"And remember that fidelity is an attribute of the Harmony which you must strive to embrace."
"Alright." She walked several paces, then asked, "I just have one question: what's fidelity?"
"It means loyalty. Faithfulness. Not breaking a promise. Do you understand that?"
"Yes."
They walked in silence for a few more paces, the only sounds their hooves kicking up dirt and the music of the crickets filling the air.
"So," she asked, "what do we do now?"
"Isn't it obvious?"
She shook her head. "Not to me."
"This town is broken, Clover. The fear and paranoia of your fellow townsponies may be allowing a chaotic sorcerer to gain unspeakable power. And when something is broken, then there's just one thing to do about it."
"What's that?"
"Why, fix it, of course."