Chapter 10: Death for Life
“And I wanted to stay, because, I mean, who doesn't like jousting, but Dagi was like 'We have to find that magic'.” Sonata said in a mocking tone.
She and Discord had been searching the fortress for Starswirl for the past ten minutes. They looked in his study and his observatory, all while Sonata told Discord about their time banished to another world.
Discord had to admit, the floating seapony was nothing like their other sisters. She was sweet and caring, reminding him of Fluttershy if she had Pinkie's outgoing attitude and energy.
“And worse, we never found it! I don't think it existed any...” Sonata stopped in midair, eyes going wide. “Daddy?”
Discord followed her gaze to a cloak covered figure lying in front of a thick vault door.
“Daddy!” Sonata rushed forward. “Daddy, are you okay?” she asked as she rolled him over.
The remains of a body that looked like it spent months under the desert sun stared up at her through empty sockets.
“Daddy!” Sonata cried. “No...”
“What happened?” Discord asked.
Sonata looked up at Discord through teary eyes.
Before she could speak, a shadow exploded in an orange blur that tackled Sonata, pinning her against the wall with a blade to her neck.
“Scootaloo?!” Discord couldn't believe his eyes. “How-”
“What are you doing here, Discord?” Scootaloo demanded. “And why are you with the enemy?”
“W-we brought him here!” Sonata cried.
“Scootaloo, stop!” Discord pleaded. “She's not the enemy.”
“Oh yeah? Well where is he, then? Where's Starswirl?” she asked.
“He's... right there,” Discord said, pointing at the mummified remains.
“Where?” Scootaloo 'looked' around until she noticed something. “What the hell? Is... is that a body?”
“That's father,” Discord said.
“No it isn't,” Scootaloo insisted. “He just talked to us. That body's been dead for at least a day. It's completely empty of magic.”
“Nag-Ta killed him,” Sonata said.
Scootaloo froze, her heart skipping a beat. “Wh-what did you say?”
“N-Nag-Ta killed him. His claw-”
“Nag-Ta's dead,” Scootaloo insisted. “He's been dead for more than a year..”
“N-no. He's been helping us,” Sonata stated. “Those creepy pony-things are his.”
“Scootaloo,” Discord interrupted. “Please, let her go. She's really trying to help.”
Scootaloo scowled. “Okay, then, tell me where the Chaos Stone is.”
“In there,” Sonata replied immediately.
Scootaloo examined the room she indicated, but there was nothing. It was an empty void, lacking even the natural magic in the air.
“I can't see anything in there at all,” Scootaloo said.
“Well, duh. The door's closed,” Sonata said.
Scootaloo sneered and smacked her in the back of the head, knocking her out.
“Stay here and make sure she doesn't go anywhere,” Scootaloo said as she leaped toward the door.
“Wait!”
Too late. Scootaloo wrenched open the door with a tendril of shadow magic. As soon as she did, a blast of green magic struck her, slamming her into the opposite wall.
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
“Hya!” Applebloom yelled as her hammer collided with the side of the giant wolf's head.
That same strike could have taken a chunk out of a mountain, yet against the monster, it was nothing but an irritation.
The wolf tried to gobble up the little insect, but his snack was pulled away by a black tentacle.
“Thanks, Twi,” Applebloom said as she landed beside the mare.
She and Sweetie cleared out the little guys quickly enough, but it was obvious they were only a distraction.
“Don't mention it,” Twilight replied before lighting up her horn. She launched several steel shipping containers, compressed into sharpened spears, each of which bounced harmlessly off the creature's thick hide.
Just as Fenrir charged, Sweetie activated her water seal, spreading a sheet of ice under its paws. The wolf slid past them, snapping at them as it did.
“How are we going to beat this thing?” Twilight asked. “Applebloom's hammer, our magic... we can't hurt it.”
“We need to find a weakness of some sort,” Sweetie Belle said. “It's skull is too thick, so that's no good. It's skin is harder to cut than adamarachnid silk, so cutting tendons won't do, either. Anyone wanna volunteer to get swallowed whole?”
The other two gave her a flat stare as they leaped out of the way of the massive jaws lunging at them.
“Then I'm out of ideas.”
“Ah have one,” Applebloom said, leveling a determined glare at the massive wolf. “But y'all ain't gonna like it.”
“What?” Twilight asked.
“Ah'm gonna release mah seal.”
“What?!” Twilight and Sweetie shouted together.
“No! Absolutely not!” Twilight objected. “We'll find another way.”
“Midnight didn't teach us that so we can use it, he taught us so we wouldn't do it by accident,” Sweetie said.
“And Ah ain't doin' it by accident,” Applebloom said. “Ah don't wanna, but... if we can't figure somethi' out...”
“Brace!” Twilight 's horn flashed, taking the three of them just before a monstrous wolf slammed into the place they had just been.
The trio appeared on the roof of a nearby warehouse.
Twilight glared at the wolf, determination in her eyes. “I might be able to hurt him, but I'll need time. One minute, tops.”
Sweetie and Applebloom gave each other a look and a nod.
“One minute. You got it,” Sweetie assured. “Let's go, Applebloom.”
Applebloom leaped into the air while Sweetie vanished in a flash of light.
Twilight closed her eyes and focused on her magic. She channeled it down her forelegs and into the seals on either hoof. Her shadow and spirit seals came to life. Their energies built and built until Twilight seemed to burn with fires of black and white.
Raising to her hind legs, she rose her fore hooves over her head, bringing the two opposing energies together. Light and dark merged, twisting around each other in a ethereal dance. Just as the energies began to destabilize and grow violent, her horn ignited in a brilliant magenta glow, surrounding the shadow and spirit energy in a field of unicorn magic.
The two magics fought and battled, each trying to repel the other, but each had nowhere to go. Twilight grit her teeth, fighting to hold these divine energies against their will.
Pain lanced through her skull as sweat poured down her brow.
Just a little more.
One after another, tiny cracks started spreading across the shell, spreading rapidly.
Just a little more
Something warm and too thick to be sweat trickled from her nose.
I won't let myself fail!
And just like that, the pain and pressure vanished. Twilight looked up at the orb held in her hooves. It was only the size of her head, motes of light and darkness swirling around one another like dancers in an endless waltz, yet despite its size and beauty, she could feel the power.
In a flash, Twilight teleported atop a small office building.
“Applebloom, Sweetie,” Twilight shouted, her voice magnified by her magic. “Get away!”
The two didn't hesitate, jumping and flashing away.
“Hey, Fido!” Twilight shouted. “Fetch!”
With a powerful shock wave, the magic fired off, barreling towards the giant wolf at staggering speeds. The ball slammed squarely into the beast's forehead, exploding in a terrifying display of power. Stone and steel for dozens of yards around the impact were vaporized in an instant. For over a hundred yards past that, brick and mortar, dock equipment, vehicles, and nearly everything else was torn up and thrown around, including the three pony warriors.
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Midnight's blade cleaved another mutant in two. He was honestly starting to get annoyed. How many of these things were there?
If he had known Starswirl had a force like this, he would have brought a couple more squads. As it was, they were already short two of their best fighters, their heaviest hitter, their best tactician, and their most powerful spell user.
They were winning, but not easily. Lyra was completely out of arrows and was wielding a pair of sabers. Rarity's position had been over run and had to switch from her rifle to her twin pistols and a mageform greatsword. Fluttershy was spending most of her time casting reinvigoration spells to on everyone to stave off exhaustion.
Pinkie was the only one seemingly unaffected by the prolonged battle. Her boundless energy was certainly a godsend. Everyone else was showing signs of wear.
I should have brought Ymir.
Of course, Slash was doing just fine. The golem's speed and claws made for quite the deadly combination against the mostly mindless foes and their simple weapons.
Still, Midnight was worried. It was obvious this was just a delay tactic. There was no way Starswirl would think such mediocre creatures would be a threat to them. Whatever he was planning, it would likely happen soon.
Unless Scootaloo can stop him.
Out of pure instinct, he leaped away, only for the spot he had just been occupying to explode as a dark crimson bolt struck.
He brought up his shield just as he landed, stopping a black claw before it could slice his neck.
“As quick as ever,” said a voice, dripping with malice.
Midnight swiped low, aiming to sever his new opponent's legs, but the enemy leaped away. Midnight turned to face the newcomer. The horned diamond dog squared off against him, black claw on his left paw, simple arming sword in the other.
Midnight flung his sword at the dog, forcing him to duck. Midnight thrust the sharpened point of his shield, hoping to catch the dog unawares, but the black claw caught the edge of the shield with ease, as if catching a rubber ball.
Then the dog let out a laugh that sent chills down Midnight's spine. It wasn't the unnaturalness of the laugh, or even the pure wickedness.
It was the familiarity.
The dog locked eyes with Midnight; eyes that haunted Midnight's dreams for years.
“You'll have to do better than that,” the dog grinned, “Father.”
“N-no... You're dead. I saw you die,” Midnight said.
“It seemed so, didn't it,” Nag-Ta teased. “The thing about demon lords, we can possess anything that consumes our blood, and thanks to your archer friend blowing my hand off before your little bitch killed me... well, here I am~.”
Unbridled fury boiled Midnight's blood, “Then this time I'll make sure there's nothing left of you!”and he charged.
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Applebloom's head was spinning. It felt like she got hit by a train again.
She couldn't think about that just then, though.
Getting to her hooves, she shook the cobwebs from her mind and looked around. She had to find the others and make sure they were alright.
“Applebloom!” called Sweetie's voice from behind. “Over here!”
Applebloom saw her friend standing atop what looked like a slab of asphalt sticking out of some rubble.
“You okay!” Applebloom called as she limped towards her friend.
“Yeah, just a little sore. Twilight's out cold, though.”
“She hurt?” Applebloom stumbled a little climbing the mound to meet Sweetie.
“Nothing major, just exhausted.”
“That's-”
Applebloom was interrupted by a rumbling sound behind her.
That just ain't possible.
She turned around, praying it was just some wreckage settling, only to have her hopes dashed by the looming figure of Fenrir rising again, the only mark being a gash on his forehead.
Applebloom set her jaw and glared at the beast. “Sweetie, get Twilight and get out of here.”
Sweetie gasped. “What? No! There has to be another way!”
Applebloom looked back at her with sorrow in her eyes. “You saw what Twilight did, and that just scratched it. Ah... Ah'm sorry, but... Tell AJ Ah'm sorry, and Midnight and Twilight that Ah love them.”
Sweetie stared at her fillyhood friend, trying to think of something that could help, but deep down, she knew it was the only way.
So, she threw her hooves around Applebloom and hugged her one last time. “You better kill that thing.”
“Ah will.”
Applebloom watched as Sweetie grabbed Twilight, and took off running as fast as she could.
With them safe, she turned back to the seemingly unstoppable wolf. It was stalking toward her with a look of pure anger and hatred.
Applebloom rose to her hind legs, and focused intently on her earth seal.
“Ah don't care how strong you are. You ain't hurtin' no pony else.”
With that, she took one last deep breath, preparing herself to make the ultimate sacrifice.
“O, ye of indomitable will. Thine heart calls, and I answer.”