Remember the Moon

by Leviathan

Magic and Weights

I soared high above the ground, letting the cool wind whip through my mane. I came back down towards the Earth to hover a few feet above the ground. Hardened batter fell off of me in crumbs. The sudden burst of magic through my veins left my body momentarily numb, but it was more relieving than painful. My gaze was locked on Paradise.

All the slime had cracked upon my releasing the energy bolt. It was a rather large flare considering the amount of time my magic had been repressed. Apparently it had been condensing and building up while subdued. The magic had not just faded away as one would expect it to. Perhaps I could further delve into the matter.

It seemed likely that, according to the data I had collected, magic was just a volatile projection. A science that used the unicorn (and to another extent pegasus and earth-pony) as medians in order to project itself. It would make for quite an interesting debate once I was in contact with Celestia again...

All the slime broke away upon my initial release, not just the mass that had covered me. The rift energy had not only frozen the stuff it had smothered it. It was unable to move, unable to breathe. It could not seem to push itself forward and continue to plague me.

While this was good for me it did spark a bit of self-resentment. It would have proven so interesting to study the biological phenomenon. The information a rift-based life form could reveal would have been astounding. But instead of preserving the unique substance, I callously destroyed it. Of course, I had been dying when I callously destroyed it, but I could have stunned it or something! Or could I have? Looking back it was all quite hazy. I suppose partial asphyxiation does muddle up your brain just a little bit.

Well no point in sobbing over a spillage of calcium - lactose colostrum. I turned my attention downwards towards the murderous abomination I was facing. That was probably the thing I should be focusing on at this point.

Paradise looked as shocked as its current condition would allow. The left-side of its face was still encased in a thick layer of blue frost that prevented motion. The left half of its mouth was still twisted into that sadistic grin, and what should have been the white of its eye was a dark shade of purple that seemed to glow in the Night. The scarlet iris was piercing against the purplish colors. The fact that there was no mane covering its head did not help it appear any less repulsive either.

The revolting twinkle that marked the left side of its mouth contrasted flawlessly with the pure shock and outrage emblazoned on the opposing side. The azure pupil was retracted to the point where practically no color was visible. The intense scowl born on the latter half of the face was deep and rigid, seemingly piercing through me. The only adjective I could use to describe the image as a whole would be...insane. The opposing mouths almost formed a sideways ‘Z.’ (So an N?)

It was a representation of two extremes. A physical image that just showed our battle, the intensity of an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object. Yet I now held no doubts as to the extents of my opponents capabilities. It appeared to be my equal on every plane. This thing was my equal physically, mentally, and with my reputation, socially.

It is a truly interesting feeling to find a nemesis. The word itself sounds silly, foreign, even. Something of a comical nature to be treated as such, yet here I was defending Equestria against a threat presented up to me in the form of insanity. Was this what true conflict was? A battle against the darker parts of our own minds?

Was fighting reduced not to the extremes of good and evil, but to the extents of insanity and stability? Then what foretell was I fighting for? The well-being of the Equestrian citizenship true enough, but which side was that? Was I a representation of insanity, defending something that casts me aside given the opportunity, or stability in keeping such a harmonic nation at peace?

I could not bear to ask myself these questions now, not when I was on the precipice of disaster. I had to protect the Equestrian nation for now. Questioning my own loyalty, at least for the time being, would only lead to this creature’s escape. An action that I could not allow.

I kept my gaze fixed upon the monstrosity like a trained hawk. Now that I had access to my magic again I could properly fight the beast. This would be a battle of the titans, indeed. If a historian were present they would, no doubt, be eagerly recording every action of this rather colossal battle.

As for Paradise itself, it seemed that the monster was still in shock at my escape. Apparently harvesting the energy of a tiny speck of rift energy created when a short amount of contact was made between two beings is quite impressive. Who knew. I thought it best to take advantage of the moment.

I called upon some residential energy that had built up in my veins and forced it outwards in another forceful beam, a beam that took on the characteristics of a lightning bolt. The surprise on Paradise’s faced turned into frustration as it quickly propelled itself into the air trying to avoid my attack.

I followed the form intently until it began to build its own spell. The constructions appeared to be that of some kind of plated shield. A green shield appeared around Paradise. I pressed my beam onwards towards the Ectoplasmic Phantasm, ignoring the fact that my beam would just be absorbed by the shield. Perhaps I would get lucky and find a chink in the armor upon making contact.

I immediately noticed a problem with the encounter when my beam was deflected off the shield and shot back at me. I released the spell instantaneously and flew upwards in order to avoid the projectile. The beam missed and headed farther downwards towards the ground creating a column of dust and smoke that left me wheezing and struggling for a fresh breath of air.

A burst of light shot through the thick layers of dust clearing them away. A monstrous beam of pure energy climbed towards me, causing me to once again fly farther upwards in order to avoid it. I pierced through the final layer of dust, and I saw another projectile hurtling towards me, although this one was of a more equine nature.

Paradise threw its hooves at me, skeletal one at the forefront, probably in another attempt at pulling me into the rift (it still looked silly doing it too). A deft movement on my part allowed me to narrowly avoid being caught by its blunt and rather non-tactical attack. I was above the beast for only a moment before I shot forward, trying to evade any more attack until I could find a spell to distance myself. I began charging a teleportation spell when another idea struck me.

I quit my focus on the teleportation spell and began another instead. If Paradise wanted a hoof-hoof confrontation that is what it would get. That is exactly what it would get!

I followed along a path doing my best to truly evade Paradise, who’s attention was rapt with the chase. Good, I did not need this being to think on why it was taking me so long to elude it. If this plan was successful I could bring Paradise down in one fell swoop.

We circled the clearing several times, always making different patterns as I narrowly avoided strike after strike. There was several times when Paradise focused a teleportation spell and ended up in front of me. These usually resulted in myself only narrowly escaping the abomination.

If I kept at the current pace I was right then, it would not be long before Paradise managed to catch me. Of course, once it was able to do so what would happen? What would happen once I was sucked into the rift? The curiosity nearly made me stop and ask. Perhaps I was insane after all.

Finally my spell was complete and ready for activation. It was one I had never used in combat before, or even practiced for that matter, but it was relatively simple (just tedious to cast), so I was able to perform it easily. As soon as I saw the chance, the moment when Paradise was just a hoof-length behind me and I could turn on the spot, I took hold of the situation.

I flapped my right wing in a sharp motion while bringing my let wing inwards towards my flank. The resulting...result left me facing the perversion of an alicorn. This was not a ploy made out of insanity or desperateness. No, this was an action performed out of planning. I don’t know if I mentioned this but I find planning to be an absolute and undeniable “fun.”

The spell I had charged was activated upon the very second I had performed the somersault. A sharp cone formed in front of me, seeming to have appeared out of nothingness. It was a brilliant gold that reflected the light of the Moon (which was just reflecting the light of the sun) very well.

Paradise, who was surrounded by a thick aura of a sickly green light, diverged from the path it had taken as soon as the cone became visible. I was not going to let it escape me, however. I released the cone shape and it shot forward in a manner not so dissimilar from a firecracker.

Paradise had been way to close to the origin of the cone, fortunately. It only managed to avoid a partial part of the cone. The serrated edges of the magical creation scraped across Paradise’s left side and a partial part of its wing.

Paradise cringed away from the cone and I seized the momentary opportunity. I conjured up a rather controversial spell I had learned in the library that once activated could not be reversed. The spell, or hex rather, took away the inherit magic ability of a select group for a short time. Meaning that any magic unique to a certain group would be restrained in the individual affected.

The spell was quite controversial at the time of its creation. Many scholarly mages, fillyosophers, and gentle-ponies argued that it was inequine to take away the inherit abilities of a pony, whether it be a pegasus, unicorn, or earth-pony. Also it hurt the victim a lot, one pegasus described the feeling as an unending agony that was a scourge against every nerve, vein, and bone in his body. Eventually the spell itself was outlawed and every single text that held knowledge about it was destroyed~except for a spell-book in my Library of the Night.

Personally, I thought the spell was simply splendid.

A small wisp of energy exited my horn and flowed slowly towards Paradise. It was thin and misty strand of magic that was a dark hue of purple. Small dots aligned throughout the stream were a much darker shade of purple. The entire string of magic was translucent, giving it an eerie quality. To describe it one could only use the term insidious.

The wispy string paced itself magnificently, not reaching Paradise a second before it moved away from the cone. The aura instantly latched onto Paradise’s horn, the epicenter of all its magical potency. Obviously I could not take away Paradise’s natural magic due to the amount of rift energy present. To drain it of its magic I would need to be able to cast “Nightmare’s Charm.”

Both Paradise and I were paralyzed for a moment. A blast of energy surged from my horn, traveling the length of the dark aura and dug itself into its horn. For a second I just studied Paradies. Its right eye twitched a few times, something I took to be an indication of pain. Other than that I could see that it once again wore a mask of indifference.

The immense pain and anguish the spell supposedly inflicted was to take effect quite soon. Maybe even at that very moment. This thing would suffer for a moment while the spell pin-pointed the exact area I wanted it to. Paradise’s wings twitched once.

Rather suddenly its wings began to have coursing spasms as the dark vapor took hold of the nerves. It came to the point where both of its wings had to be brought inwards and pressed against its torso. I could see the abomination biting down on its lower lip ever so slightly as it stared at me.

The tolerance for pain this thing exuded was simply astounding. To think any one creature could stand its nervous system being ripped out of position and temporarily twisted into another was insane. Was survival, mere hunger, truly why this mongrel was so determined to best me? There had to be something else to it. Nothing could withstand this without some type of motive.

The small volt of energy that had connected our horns started to recede. It was moving at an agonizingly sluggish pace. I watched as the bolt slowly retracted a petite, glowing orb of flowing light. The light would switch color every so often from a soft sky-blue, to a cloud-like white, to a deep green.

It was the embodiment of flight. The strand of energy brought the light to my horn rather daintily. I could feel my body absorb the energy and store it away, likely in a reserve of magic. The dark vapor of energy that connected Paradise and my horns dissipated, fading into the darkness from which it came.

The wings crumpled at Paradise’s sides serving no further purpose. It fell to the ground at a swift pace, barely managing to catch itself in a telekinetic grip before impact. It lowered itself onto the ground as I recovered from the strain of such a taxing spell.

For the next few hours, days even, Paradise would be without flight as the physical ability to do so disappeared. I had drained it of a pegasus’s natural magic. It was an effect that would boost the fortitude and speed of my own flight techniques as well as hinder my opponent.

Paradise did not look thrilled once back upon the ground. Of course, that was likely due to the fact that it was not willingly grounded. Or maybe it enjoyed the tortuous spell I had just cast, it could be an masochist for all I know. Seriously, books do not inform us on what is pleasurable and what is not when interacting with a devilish monster. Information that I, personally, think is very important.

Paradise glowered at me for a moment. “Such a strange spell. You realize the risks of performing one of that nature don’t you?” Paradise took my silence as a request to continue.

“Draining spells are like doors. Once opened they can be entered and exited from either side. If you chose to ground me for the remainder of our battle than that is how I shall remain. If you think for one moment, however, that I would allow you an advantage without taking one myself than you’re a fool.” It locked eyes with me for a moment.

I stared into those two strange eyes. They looked to be two sides of a coin. Their differences were insane, horrifying even. On the left side is a frozen imprint of Paradise’s mood a few mere hours ago. It is hazy, dark, putrid, sadistic, almost appearing esurient in nature. The working eye was rigid, cold, and spoke of the planning and calculations that went on in Paradise’s mind. They were so horrible, yet so entrancing...

I felt my stomach lurch. My wings cracked to my sides whipping wind in every direction as they did so. I felt cool wind whipping through my mane as I fell, waking me from my trance. My horn glowed faintly as a telekinetic field formed a mitt under me.

I rolled off the lining of my magic mitt and found myself standing upright, a few yards away from my foe. It stood tall, gaze steady and unwavering, cold eyes foreshadowing what failure would bring upon me. Those eyes...what was it about those eyes that was so...enchanting?

I found myself gliding into another stupor. I shook my head (dear Tartarus that was painful) clearing away those hollowed slits. Despite my continued efforts the thoughts and images lingered, pestering me with their very existence. My mind was stuck in a perpetual loop; anytime I managed to rip my thoughts away from those eyes something would draw my attention back to them.

“Mesmerism. You’ve mesmerized me.” My voice was hoarse. It sounded scratchy and distant, almost chalky.

A fake tsk-tsk could be heard from Paradise. “I would never partake in such a ineffectual waste of raw magical energy. Mesmerism is a cheap trick, something that only the weak-willed would succumb to; you aren’t irresolute in the slightest. Quite the contrary in fact.” Its voice seemed to echo throughout my mind.

“Then what, foretell, would this be? Why are you within my head?” Another pang shot through my body. My nerves seemed to be receiving the wrong signals from my brain.

Paradise gave a mirthless smirk. “As I said earlier, a door can be entered or exited from either direction once ajar. Rather than fight back against you, and your attempt at grounding me, I took the opportunity to implant myself within you.” To prove its point the beast sat down and clapped its front hooves together. The sound echoed throughout the recesses of mind, seemingly stretching out to reach every little aspect of my conscious.

“Now everything I do will leave an imprint in your mind. Every move I make will leave a resounding thud in your mind. If I decide to do something like this-” Its horn glowed for a faint moment. A sudden sensation came over me.

A sensation that I needed to wretch. A splitting headache came over me, blurring my vision and causing a sudden bout of vertigo. “-you won’t be able to do a thing. I have dominion over you and this time there really is nothing you can do to beat me. It’s rather humorous isn’t it? You use a spell that was meant to give you more control over me, yet all it managed was to give me dominion over you.” Paradise gave a derisive snort.

True I was in the grasps of some sort of sickening spell meant to cause agony, but I could not help but laugh at the mongrel. I let loose a loud, mirthful laugh at a sickly, lugubrious situation. This thing was kind of losing its touch. I had already found a loophole in this new scenario it had concocted.

Paradise stared at me with cold, unblinking eyes. “Why do you show glee in your own demise? You have not submitted to my earlier plans, so why do you express such jubilance?” The tone sounded more curious then apprehensive.

“I am laughing at you, loathsome swine! The casing of your skull is quite dense, indeed! You truly believe there to be no way out of this for myself? You have so foolishly ‘implanted’ yourself in my mind, allowing me just as much an advantage as you. I know every single spell, incantation, and charm your going to cast!” My tone was a mixture of glee and malice, an odd combination when your intentions involve saving an entire nation by yourself.

I pushed myself a step forward and brought my head upwards in order to meet Paradise’s eyes. I would not even have to deal with the agonizing spell I was placed under for much longer. If I created a large enough distraction in order to draw Paradise away, it would be forced to cancel whatever spell I was now suffering from.

My horn began to kindle with that familiar dark aura, charging with the energy I needed for my next spell. Large spears manifested in the air all around me. They were coated in the indigo glow of my magic, serrated edges pointed directly at Paradise. In a word- menacing.

The mongrels eye grew wide for a moment before setting into a normal size once again. It set itself into a position similar to a prowling tiger (yes I’ve met a tiger before). Paradise watched the spears and me with that indifferent expression, yet now, hidden where only the observant would see, was something strange. Something new. Confusion.

I had seen many emotions and expressions cross Paradise’s visage, but confusion had never been among them. No, the strange creature seemed to always know exactly what it was doing, no matter how insane the action. It had also known every spell I had performed, but obviously this one confused it.

Knowing the the approximate era that the spell fell out of use I would be able to establish a date line. A line informing me of how far back Paradise’s knowledge stretched. If its knowledge did not proceed any further back than the spell I was using now then usage of spells that only appeared before that time period would be best to use.

Luckily this list included my ancient spell, the draining one so lovingly tokened “Nightmare’s Charm.” Meaning, that I could still catch Paradise off-guard with it and take it down swiftly and decisively. Sadly, nothing ever proved to be that painless for the Night.

A shock went down my spine, reminding me of the being inflicting the torture spell on me. I channeled a fair amount of energy into my horn, letting the soothing sensation of my magic course through my veins. I am unable to fathom how earth-ponies and pegasi live without spellcraft.

I released a current of energy, causing the spears to rocket towards Paradise at an alarming pace. I ascended to the skies as they did so, feeling unsafe while in such close quarters with the vile creature. Paradise tensed its body for a moment before hopping upwards, only slightly.

Then I felt the spell it was performing. A telekinetic glove formed under Paradise and shot it skywards, thus avoiding the serrated edges of the spears. Of course, something so simple as that would not avoid these peculiar spears. The group of them curved upwards, all taking different directions but pushing towards one goal.

Every single one of my spears was to converge on one, singular point. In one stroke they would wipe out something that had been plaguing me for...hours. Had it really only been hours? I had been exposed to so much raw energy and magical prowess in such a short time. It has been a while.

This being had dug itself a permanent place in my mind either way. To face a creature so vile, yet at the same time so powerful, was intriguing. This creature had tested my definition of the very word insane, causing me to question where the truth of insanity lies.

Was insanity what I saw earlier: the sadistic joy Paradise took in matters of a most somber nature? Or perhaps insanity was the lack thereof. As I had seen from this newer side of Paradise indifference could be very...appalling.

So what truly embodied madness? Was it derision of pleasure from inflicting pain, a lack of sympathy- perhaps even apathy, or was it, perhaps, neither? Does the personification of lunacy lie within curiosity?

The constant need to find a reason. The overwhelming sensation to look for a solution to a problem that is irrelevant. Maybe that is insanity. Perhaps my search for a deeper reason behind such a deranged creature was destined to be futile. For now I should focus on the situation at hoof.

Paradise caught itself in another mitt of telekinetic energy. The speared staves followed it, resulting in Paradise, once again, launching itself in the opposite direction of the spears. I could feel the torture spell that had invaded my mind lifting slightly. Wonderful, that meant my spell was distracting Paradise.

I charged more energy into my horn, preparing to create another set of magically enhanced weaponry to the fray. Everfree’s many telekinetic spells echoed throughout my mind. It was incredible, really. The level it performed at was quite a marvelous spectacle.

Telekinesis on its own is a very basic and easy to manage spell. Unicorns use it to carry luggage, eat, work machinery, etc. There were only two constraints that bound telekinetic spells: weight and magical aptitude.

Weight was applied on all objects and the results of a simple telekinesis spell varied based on the power of the caster. Usually most unicorns found their limit to be little, if not the exact same as what they would be able to carry physically. Magical aptitude also applies to all objects, but on a different scale.

Magical aptitude is, contrary to popular belief, not restricted to enchanted objects and unicorns. Everything carries its own different level of magic that is measured on a different scale. For example, if a unicorn were to lift up an earth-pony and a pegasus of the same weight on separate occasions the amount of stress put on the telekinetic field would differ based on magical aptitude.

Based around that, and the general rules of magic, one finds it incredibly difficult to lift oneself up, as they are essentially using all of their power to lift all of their power. It would be similar to standing in a bucket and trying to lift yourself up by the handle. If Paradise is able to catch and throw itself as it was it would have to have some kind of detached energy cache. Otherwise, the feat it was currently performing would be impossible.

This detached energy cache was hidden from me, of course. It seemed that Paradise had not used the reserve when invading my mind. Intriguing, perhaps this was a part of its plan as well. I would have to be vigilant.

My spears were converging on Paradise’s position once again. As per usual it caught itself in a telekinetic field and launched itself away from the projectiles. Each time it did so I could feel the torture spell lift away slightly. After the fifth repeat of this formula only a minuscule form of the spell was still active. It was still working enough to cloud my mind somewhat but not enough to cause any physical agony.

The invading telekinetic spell was strong and left a heavy impression upon my mind. The advantage to this was that I could not only feel when one of these spell was activating but I could also tell in which direction Paradise would be thrown. If I positioned a portion of my spears right I would likely be able to trap the beast.

I focused energy into my horn, which produced an electric current that flowed through the shaft of half the spears. They split off from the rest of the group and positioned themselves elsewhere, in preparation for Paradise’s arrival. Either the beast did not notice or did not care about those half of the spears as it did not activate any new spells.

Paradise next field of energy hurled it exactly where I had placed the spears. I watched as the mongrel flew headfirst towards it fate, all the while trying to charge up a spell. In the recesses of my mind I felt a spell burst forth, one bearing a significant amount of power.

Paradise came to a complete stop in the air, having balanced itself with the use a telekinetic burst. I was able to feel that happen in my mind. However what Paradise did next was surprise. A cast-iron grip formed around my throat and limbs, holding me in place mid-air. A sword magicked itself from thin air. It bore engravings similar to the wounds Paradise now wore.

A barrier spell encased Paradise and I stopped my spears a few inches outside of the casing. These three actions were lost to me, I had not sensed there presence in my mind before their apparent casting. This likely meant that Paradise had just exhausted one of its energy reserve. Normally that would be a good thing, but at the moment the executioner’s sword looming above me made it hard to appreciate.

I cast my spears in every direction, surrounding the entire barrier. There was still one trick to these spears that Paradise was not aware of. One that I could still use to my advantage.