Genetic Dead End

by peacevic

Chapter 7

Genetic Dead End ch.7

By the time they had looped around and re-entered Ponyville, albeit on the other side, Twilight figured the chase was near an end.

Magdha proved her right a few moments later, as they arrived at a familiar-looking stage. Two other ponies were already there, dressed in the same way as the necromancer. Twilight skidded to a halt. She had learned her lesson about charging in too recklessly, and wasn't about to repeat that mistake with a pony so casual about killing. Peacevic followed suit.

"So glad you could make it," Magdha crowed as she threw back her hood, grinning wickedly.

Peacevic growled. "Don't give me that mess! We've been following you this entire time! 'So glad you could make it'."

Now that she could see her clearly, Twilight was struck by how little Magdha changed. Her face was a bit more gaunt, true, but it was as beautiful as it had been on that night. She knew it had only been a few years, and that most ponies didn't change all that much in that span of time. But Magdha had been roughly twice her age. According to the studies she'd read, Magdha should be exhibiting signs of her age.

Not to mention the fact that the last time Twilight had seen the necromancer she'd been dying of a magic beam through the lungs, courtesy of Shining Armor.

So, clearly, there was some sort of magic at play here. If she could-

"Mmmh, as spirited as ever," Magdha purred, jerking Twilight out of her contemplation. "I can't wait until we're finally together, Troubadour."

"That's never going to happen, you psycho." Peacevic was shaking, his face contorted with rage.

Twilight worriedly nudged the rapper. "Peacevic, calm down."

"You're so angry. What, did I kill somepony?"

"Yes!" Peacevic exploded.

Magdha frowned. "Oh. Sorry about that, then. It's a little quirk of mine. But once I become immortal I won't need to kill anymore, so it's all okay."

"You won't need to, but you'll do it anyway. Won't you?" Twilight demanded.

"Probably," Magdha conceded. The lackadaisical way she said it made Twilight hate the fact that the earth pony's coat reminded her so much of Pinkie even more. That two pink ponies, or ponies in general, could be so opposed to each other personality-wise boggled the mind. "After all, there will most likely be ponies that resist the reign of myself and my husband."

"No."

"Oh, Troubadour, you forget. Your consent is not needed. Only your blood."

Twilight had heard enough. She let loose with a blast of magic at the necromancer's smug, smiling face.

But the smile didn't so much as twitch as a rune appeared in the path of Twilight's shot. It just stayed where it was, smugness intact, until the symbol finished its job of absorbing Twilight's attack. Magdha giggled. "Did I forget to mention the stage has been proofed against your little powers? I won't be interrupted this time, Princess. Oh- I haven't had the chance to congratulate you on that yet, have I?"

"I'd rather you not," Twilight retorted. "Anyway, how are you even doing this? I mean you're, you know, an earth pony. How are you using this magic?"

Magdha took a deep breath in irritation. "Obviously, Sun Writing's a writing-based system. I'm as literate as you are, racist."

"I'm not-"

"Normally, I'd agree with you," Peacevic put in. "But this is Twilight Sparkle you're talking about. She takes literacy to a whole new level."

"Umm... thanks?"

Peacevic placed a reassuring hoof on her shoulder. "Don't mention it, Twilight. You horrible bigot."

"I'm never going hear the end of that from you, am I?" Twilight groaned, though she was glad some of his alleged humor had returned.

"Well he's going to be dead soon, so..."

"Shut up!" she snapped at the pink cult leader.

Before she could berate Magdha further, the sound of galloping hooves coming up behind her pulled her attention away. It wasn't long until Trixie barreled into view, and only a few more seconds until she joined them.

The magician was furious.

"What are you doing here?" Trixie demanded.

"I'm trying to become immortal. Didn't they fill you in on-"

"Not you." For all the anger in Trixie's expression as she cut Magdha off, it seemed the dominant feeling was... betrayal? She pointed at one of the hooded ponies. "You. What are you doing here, Ingenue?"

"How could you possibly know I was here?" Despite the response, the indicated pony's smokey voice sounded more amused than anything else. The cloak fell away, revealing a light-brown pegasus mare.

This new pony had clearly once been exceedingly fair, but now she just seemed rundown. She was also completely unfamiliar to Twilight. "Trixie, how do you know one of the cultists? Who is this?"

"Well, obviously Trixie didn't know she was part of you and Peacevic's little secret. Trixie only just met her a little while ago!" The magician's face flushed and she started twiddling her forehooves. "She, um, is Trixie's dad's wife. That he sort of abandoned."

"Lulamoon was married?!" Peacevic gaped.

Twilight couldn't fault his flabbergasted state, she was more or less feeling the same way. "Wow Trixie, I totally get why you didn't want to talk about that before."

"That- That's not important right now!" Trixie was still blushing slightly, but her expression regained its seriousness as she rounded on this Ingenue again. "Why are you helping this... madpony?!"

"That's the nicest compliment I've gotten all year..."

"You're right, what could I possibly need a necromancer's help for?" the pegasus replied, the comeback rife with sarcasm.

Trixie blanched. "You don't mean..."

"Of course I do. My Prouesse will be returned to me, and all it will take is helping Magdha here with her silly little ritual."

"You cant do that!" Trixie insisted. "If you do, everypony will die! Do you really think Prouesse would want that?!"

Ingenue snarled, "Prouesse is dead! You know, I heard your father had another kid here in Ponyville. Why don't we kill it, and see if its mother wouldn't do anything to bring it back to her?"

"Are you even listening to yourself?!" Trixie shouted.

Everything Twilight knew of the various psychological disciplines was telling her that none of Trixie's words would have any effect on Ingenue. Sweatiness, trembling, rapid breathing. She wasn't a professional, at least not in any official capacity, but recognizing the symptoms of a nervous breakdown was foal's play.

This meant that not only were they facing a merciless psychopath, but an unstable, unpredictable pony as well.

Twilight dropped back a half-step and whispered, "What should we do, Peacevic? The mare's not really like Magdha. We can't just-"

"Yeah, we can," he replied curtly, before jabbing a hoof at Ingenue. "I don't know what the buck your problem is with Trixie, but that... thing... beside you is going down. So either get out of the way or go down with her!"

Ingenue sneered. "Forgive me if I'm less than moved by this bluster. Perhaps if you were a real musician, I'd be impressed by your passion."

"And ponies say I'm a snob..." a demure voice said drolly.

"Rarity! Applejack!" Twilight sighed in relief as the two trotted over to stand by her side. Only a couple quick hugs disrupted the formation.

"Really," Rarity resumed. "Peacevic may be less than couth, and slightly full of himself, but any artist could see that he puts everything he has into each track. To deny him the title of 'musician' is the mark of one who's never created anything of their own."

"Mind fillin' us in on who these folks are, Twi?"

"The pink one's the necromancer in charge. Keep your guard up, she's... not right."

"She's a necromancer, Darling. That is to be assumed," Rarity deadpanned.

"The other one's name is Ingenue. Apparently she was married to Trixie's dad."

"Practically family, then," Applejack said with a frown. "So, what's she doin' here?"

Ingenue hissed, "I have my reasons."

"Wait, why are you ignoring me?" the still-hooded pony asked.

To be honest, with all the dramatic revelations Twilight had forgotten that he'd been standing there the whole time. Peacevic snorted. "You weren't interesting the last time either, buddy. Just shut up and stand there."

"As riveting as this exchange has been, I've got immortality to attain," Magdha announced before the hooded pony could reply. "And, even though my barrier is more than enough to keep you out, I don't want you to stare at me all day. Well- Peacevic, maybe. Too bad I still need your blood. Might as well murder two birds with one monster."

Twilight was going to point out how Magdha's phrase didn't make sense when the necromancer started chanting in a language she didn't recognize. More glyphs formed in the space between the two parties. They spun around and slammed into each other, before repelling each other like magnets. Though instead of magnetic field, bits of flesh and bone materialized in the gaps. Within moments the ragged, reanimated corpse of a manticore loomed. Defying its lack of lungs, the beast roared fiercely.

Peacevic simply smiled and leaned over to her, muttering, "Remember when I told you Ice once took out a manticore bare-hoofed?"

Dual streaks of color dropped like meteorites on the creature, the impact blasting debris everywhere.

Twilight raised a wing to shield herself from the shower of rocks. When she was able to look again, she saw Rainbow Dash and Ice standing at the rim of a newly-formed crater. The monster at the bottom of it... wouldn't be getting up again. Together, the pegasi declared, "Not on our watch."

"Seven on three now, Magdha. Odds of you getting my blood are looking pretty long," Peacevic crowed.

"Why do you keep mocking the insane pony?"

"Because, Twilight, the last time I saw her she tied me down and tried to murder me. I'm feeling a little petty." He cracked his neck and refocused on the necromancer. "So like I said, any bright ideas on how to deal with seven of us?"

"I think you mean nine."

A bit of the worry lifted off Twilight as SusP.E.C.T. rounded a corner and joined them, Fluttershy following hesitantly behind. The whole team was okay. Well, at least so far.

"Hah! Nice line, dude." Peacevic punctuated his compliment with a hoof bump.

"The dork's got a point," Dash chimed in. "A Wonderbolt, a princess, a bodyguard, a vet, a farmer, a dressmaker, a rapper, his hype=pony, and a magician. How could you possibly beat all of us?"

Magdha snickered at her. "Well... they say if at first you don't succeed, use more."

The various pieces of the manticore started to glow, then floated upwards. From each of them grew a new undead monster. The pack then divided and divided again, until there were scores of them leering at the ponies- all of them as large as the first.

Fluttershy let out a little 'eep!'

Rainbow Dash turned to her brother. "Ice, what do we do?"

"Don't let them surround us," was the terse reply.

"Uh, Princess?" Peacevic gulped. "Now would be the time for the awesome alicorn magic."

"I- I don't study that kind of magic," she sputtered.

Applejack doffed her hat and set it neatly on the ground. "Only thing for it's to buck 'em one by one, then."

"We don't have any other choice." Rarity grimly concurred. "For Ponyville."

"For our families," Trixie added.

SusP.E.C.T. looked sidelong at Fluttershy as he said, "Not like I'm gonna die now..."

"You don't have a choice," Magdha dismissed cruelly. "Get them."

The horde of undead manticores started toward them. The others dropped into ready stances as Twilight shot off a couple beams. They weren't overly effective. The monsters drew closer. There was the sound of glass shattering.

Sudden'y, the monsters burst into shadows and disappeared. Twilight looked at the cultists in confusion. Magdha was clutching at her chest as a wide-eyed Apple Bloom backed away, the shards of the chalice at her hooves. The necromancer spasmed horribly. Light began pouring through her hooves, from the same spot where Shining's beam had pierced her years ago. The light turned into flames, and in moments she was consumed. Only the echoes of her final shrieks remained.

"No!" Ingenue cried. "No! No! No! Why?!"

She collapsed in a heap. For his part, the final cloaked pony looked around, then took off running.

"Apple Bloom!" The little filly ran and leapt into her mother's embrace.

SusP.E.C.T. perplexedly scratched his head. "Peace, what was that? Why'd she just... disintegrate?"

"No idea," Peacevic told him. He turned to Twilight. "Twilight?"

"I... I think it was the ritual. Do you remember what she said back then?"

"'The Word is manifest'. I think."

"And this was after she'd killed the colt, right?" There were several narrowed eyes at that, but Twilight ignored them for now. After Peacevic nodded, she continued, "His blood must have activated the magic, pooling the Word in the cup. The Word is Immortality, right? So that meant that as long as the cup was intact she would be immortal. At least until she sacrificed you, The Troubadour, and the immortality became permanent."

Rainbow rolled her eyes. "I'm sure that would make sense to an egghead like you, Twilight, but how about you simplify it for us. She's dead for good, right?"

"Yeah."

"Alright, then."

"But how'd ya know what ta do, Bloom?" Applejack asked the filly.

"That Doctor said 'The Vessel holds the Word'. I just figured he meant the cup."

"The Doctor? How could he know about all this? It's literally a state secret." Twilight's instincts were setting off alarm bells and warning klaxons.

Rainbow Dash snorted dismissively. "Who cares? We just saved all of Ponyville! Good guys: 1, evil cultists: 0."

"Indeed," agreed a voice Twilight didn't know. "You all were very impressive."