A cup goes flying across the room. I sit back in my chair opposite the table from Lucretia. She storms around the room, throwing random objects.
She shakes her head left and right, then turns and starts flailing her arms as she speaks.
"Are you kidding me?! If he grows stronger every time we fight him, then how much does his power increase?! What are we going to do if he ends up being able to possess two or more creatures at a time?! What if he no longer needs a host?! What if he's able to possess Celestia or Cadence?! Can he use an alicorn's magic?! We're screwed if he can!" She stomps around the room. All her theories were now in danger.

We could learn a lot about Zaran after this fight, but knowing the limits of his new powers filled us both with dread. We had no idea how much more powerful he could become, but he was a handful already. Lucretia paces back and forth swiftly.
"Okay...so there's one thing we need to start making a priority: we need to find some magical way to either contain him or defeat him outright. Even just detecting him would be fine with me. We can't just sit around fighting Og Nag at this point either. I want to send Emeris to find out how he keeps getting more Og Nag as well. I think it's clear they're being manufactured." She walks around with her hands on her hips.

I sit quietly, letting her brainstorm. She mumbles to herself. I don't catch enough to make sense of it. She stops and stares at the ground.

"Okay so...when Luna recovers, maybe we can have her do some digging. We need to know what we're dealing with as soon as possible. Now here's another question about Zaran: why now? If he feeds off negative energy, then why is he just now surfacing? Has he always been here? Did he come with us through the explosion? I doubt he's from our world or he'd be unstoppable by now, so he had to be here before. Was he just patiently waiting? Was there not enough negative energy here to feed him?" I can tell Lucretia is calming down. She's drawing conclusions and beginning to understand Zaran again.

Cadence walks in, she has an excited expression on her face. She stands at the doorway, respectfully allowing us to include her. Lucretia walks around with her head bowed, deep in thought.
She hastily trots up to me after I wave her in, but glances once at Lucretia before speaking.
"Raiden...I overheard what you said, and I have a feeling I may be able to help." I touch my fingertips together in front of me quizzically, cock an eyebrow and nod for her to continue.

She taps her front right hoof on her chin, looking slightly past me in thought.
"I had this strange feeling that there was a reason Zaran attacked Canterlot instead of the Crystal Empire. I mean Canterlot had two alicorns guarding it. Surely Shining Armor and I aren't nearly as powerful as the princesses. Also there's no telling what type of magical items they have hidden here, not to mention the fountain of knowledge both princesses have. I don't like admitting it, but my kingdom was certainly an easier target. So why then? Well, are you familiar with the Crystal Heart?"

I shake my head in response. The chair shuffles against the floor as I sit up straight, eager to hear news of any new artifacts this place has Lucretia looks up from her thoughts at Cadence. She smiles weakly at Lucretia, still a bit uncomfortable with getting involved in "military" matters.
"The Crystal Heart is the most important artifact in our kingdom. With it, we can spread love throughout Equestria. However, the love of my people is needed for it to work. I've noticed from looking over previous reports, that the Og Nag multiplied in weeks, but that was after we left our kingdom to come assist."

Lucretia lets out a silent gasp.
"I think we have some good news at last. There has to be a connection between the heart and Zaran's Og Nag!" I turn towards Cadence.
"How hard would it be for you to activate this heart again? I'm wondering what will happen if you started pouring love out of it, as we attack the Og Nag. It might hinder or even stop Zaran from growing more powerful. It could even break his connection with the Og Nag temporarily." Lucretia slams her palms on the table.
"We might even be able to take out most of his forces! Who knows what will happen!" Cadence's eyes grow wide.
"I...I don't know. I would need a lot of citizens. Also everyone is so demoralized. I can't fathom what we would need to do to raise everyone's spirits."

She taps her chin again thinking, then a small smile crosses her face.
"Wait! I have an idea! I'll need a bit to make preparations, and I admit it will be a little unorthodox, but I can make it work!"
Lucretia stands with her arms crossed.
"We can attack the Og Nag whenever you're ready. Emeris is holding them at bay, with neither side advancing forward for now. As far as we know, this may be the last group of Og Nag for a while. Our scouts reported in that all other groups are only a few hundred. I think Zaran has a plan with this attack. He's probably holding off to see what we'll do. If he's doing that, then he has something nasty planned. It may even be his final assault."

The wooden chair I'm sitting in, squeaks loudly as i lean back and rock slightly.
"Cadence, can you be ready by noon tomorrow? We'll need to coordinate this as precisely as possible. What will most likely happen, is we will muster up our forces and wait until we see any sign that the Og Nag are acting weird, then attack."
Cadence bits her lip nervously.
"That...that is a very short timespan."

Lucretia leans against the wall.
"If Zaran see's you leave, he'll know something's up. We won't have long. I'm sorry but noon tomorrow is the latest we can give you. We don't have all the time in the world. Emeris needs sleep and so do our people. Noon is already pushing it, as none of them have slept yet." Lucretia glances at me, most likely wondering if she's overstepped her bounds.
Cadence looks back at Lucretia.
"Alright...noon tomorrow. But what if there's complications? What if it doesn't work or I get held up?"
I sigh deeply, wanting to reassure her but she needs to know the truth.
"Then this battle will be the deciding factor in the war. If we suffer too many casualties, Zaran might follow up with another attack, seeing as how quickly he can get more Og Nag. We won't be able to get more replacement soldiers fast enough. All we have for reserves are the civilians who volunteered and a decent compliment of guards. They're still being trained as fast as possible, so we won't have the skill advantage like we do with Taraskan infantry."
Cadence stand there, trying to stop herself from shaking.
"I...that is most definitely not reassuring!"

Lucretia taps her foot impatiently.
"Look, I know this is a nasty position for you to be in, but we don't have many options. The moment you leave, Zaran will know something is up. If you don't go, then Zaran might be able to just wait us out, or force our hand with a bunch of minor skirmishes. Don't think about what could happen, just focus on what you need to do, and get it done no matter the cost. How are you going to get everyone else over there anyways?"
Cadence smiles, now that she has something positive to contribute.
"Celestia, Luna, and myself can probably teleport them. It will take a lot of magic, but it can be done!"

Lucretia groans.
"So what you're telling me is if you do this, we'll have exhausted a bunch of our magic reserves…great." Lucretia rubs her hands across her face, trying not to let her anxiety get the better of her. I stand up, and Cadence takes a few steps back.
"Cadence, we have no other options. Prepare your people and head out when you are ready. I'm going to walk around and inspect everything. This palace might turn into a full scale warzone." Cadence nods and bolts to go prepare her people, probably grateful to be done with the conversation. I had noticed the princesses don't always react to long periods of stress. Hopefully they won't let us down when we need them. Lucretia stares at me, and shakes her head while sighing, before turning around and walking out.

I exit the room, and take a few random turns. We had several hours before Cadence was going to leave, and a nice walk sounded perfect.
I turn the corner and begin walking down a hallway. To my astonishment, I see Luna in all her beauty, coming from the opposite end. I instinctively look down at my feet, pretending to be deep in thought. I can see her eyes fixed on me. My heartbeat races. I can't look her in those gorgeous teal eyes, that pull me into a realm I'm unfamiliar with. Her presence draws me in, begging me to abandon my surroundings. A few more steps. She still stares, I still fake my obliviousness. I'm almost side by side with her. A few more steps and I'm free from her captivating gaze. Suddenly, she flutters a wing in front of my face. I cry out, legitimately startled and grab my chest as I lean against the wall.
She giggles.
"Deep in thought again are we?" She comments, gently whipping me with her tail.
My laugh is a mix of fondness and relief.
"Well aren't you always the jokester."

She smiles and tilts her head to one side. It's adorable and I can't help but continue to stare as I walk past her. Her perfume is a wonderful mixture similar to blueberries and vanilla. It captivates me, it takes everything not to shiver. My heart pounds in my chest and my armor becomes a furnace. I hear her light footsteps walking away from me. I can't help it. I take one last glance over my shoulder at her.

To both my horror and joy, she's already looking at me as well. She giggles again, making warmth swim through my veins. Decades of anger and fear are left behind in a single moment. She gives me a slight wink. If it weren't for my helmet, she would have seen my jaw drop and tremble.
This feeling is cut short as I walk straight into the wall in front of me and fall to the ground. She laughs hard, as her intoxicating light voice echoes through the halls. She turns a corner to the right and is gone again.

I had learned something new about Zaran that day. No matter how long he had possessed Luna, he could never pull off the same alluring gestures she could. Back in the room where Zaran was controlling her, I wasn't terribly nervous. It was more awkward than seductive. But when Luna's left to her own devices, that pony gets inside my head like a beautiful migraine. Even as I kept walking, my hands still shook. My jaw still trembled. Zaran had nothing on that purple goddess.

A gentle smile crosses my face.