Mira had said that time didn't exist in the Kingdom of Naught; that their world was not bound to such nonsense. It was mostly due to the fact that every creature within the realm was immortal, and that it was folly for any to consider keeping track of it. I heard her describe it to me as having one hay of a long day, where you take periodic naps throughout it, but you never felt any older; only wiser.
I was not blessed with such longevity, I could no longer tell what time it was, nor could I figure out the days to weeks I spent within that cave. All I knew was that time and I was still very much friends, time was present in the Kingdom of Naught, it just took some pony, mortal pony, to find it. Time marched ever on, I could only guess the days I had spent here, but I could feel myself getting wiser and I knew it meant being one step closer to mastering my magic. Mira had become familiar with time, having spent some of it with my mother, now spending it with me, and she found that she wasn't very patient for it to run its course.
"How long are you going to keep practicing that stupid spell?" Mira groaned, leaning against an upturned rock; her arm supporting her head.
I sat within my magical sphere, my horn shining brilliantly, my eyes closed to focus my magic.
"The longer I can sustain it, the better it will be." I replied.
For several days, Mira had been teaching me the varying degrees of Shadow Magic, most of which was for attacking and manipulating, but there were a few she offered to me that were for defense. One in particular that I was practicing was part of Spell Reflection. It was the same shield I had used, with Mira's help, against the Great Dragon Char, only this time I was capable of conjuring it myself and sustaining it for long periods of time. It was spherical, magical runes similar to Mira's markings pulsed upon it, I was also able to condense it into a semi-circle to focus it on a single attack from an enemy, but I chose to keep it around me for the time being. The more power I had the stronger it would be, the longer I could cast it, the more sustainable it would become.
At first Mira was on board with the idea of having a suitable defense, challenging my shield with some of her own magical attacks, but when I had succeeded in maintaining it through one of her more powerful attacks she no longer wished to continue it.
"We still have a lot more to cover, you're never going to get anywhere with just a shield." Mira moaned in annoyance.
The real reason Mira was annoyed was that she could no longer reach me. My shield had become formidable and without risking blowing up her entire cave. Mira didn't try to smash it anymore. It was true that Mira had more to teach me, but having seen how easily the shield had fallen to the Great Dragon Char's power I found it necessary to focus on it more than anything else.
"You have to admit, my shield is pretty cool." I said, deciding it was best to move on.
My shield faded away, along with the glow from my horn. Mira was quick to leap at me, slapping me across the face; as if suppressing her need to hit me for several hours. I narrowed my eyes at her as she seemed quite pleased with herself as she floated past me to continue with her lessons.
"Your next lesson will be about your Dark Form." Mira began, holding up her finger to visually depict the importance of this statement.
"Dark form? I asked curiously.
"This particular Shadow Art is one that you will not have to worry about. For the Dark Form is a transformation of one's self into a state that increases your power to near limitless levels, fueled purely through hate and malice. This form is similar to the power you felt when facing the big stupid dragon." Mira explained further.
"How so?" I asked.
"All of your abilities were heightened well beyond your physical means, granting you a power that rivaled that of that giant ugly lizard." Mira elaborated further. "Even though your magic wasn't able to be used to its full potential, you achieved a new level of power that only your crazy dad has been able to achieve."
"But I wasn't able to control it. I nearly burned myself out trying to use it." I stated, thinking back on it.
"Your encounter with dragon fire would have had the same results of the Dark Form. The limitations of the Dark Form are extremely dangerous. In your case, you would have destroyed yourself from the inside out from all that power." Mira explained. "Your father lost his mind when he achieved it."
"How come I didn't lose my mind?" I asked, genuinely interested.
"That's because I was still linked with you, I was able to tap into your subconscious directly and stop the flow of your magic. Enabling me to get through that thick stupid skull of yours and save your stupid life." Mira replied, using her fist to knock me on the head like a door.
Thinking back on it, I remembered seeing Mira for the first time. How she really did save me from myself, sacrificing her only means of speaking to me to purge the dragon fire from my body. It was the first time Mira had trusted me to keep my promise, and it was the first time I found myself trusting Mira.
"So why don't I have to worry about this Dark Form?" I asked, thinking more about it.
"You must first be able to reach your peak in both physical and mental powers before even trying to push yourself beyond them. It takes many years to be able to achieve that sort of readiness, and even then it is not guaranteed you will be able to go any further than that. Without the power of an elder dragon's fire raging inside you, you won't be able to recreate it." Mira answered, shaking her finger at me.
I started to remember the visions I had of my father, the time before he became the Mad King. The meager amounts of gold he had presented the Great Dragon Char during one of their encounters and how powerless he was to stand against it. He must have spent years trying to achieve that power, forcing himself to stretch beyond his limits, all in the hopes to challenge Char, but losing his mind in the process.
"So that's what happened to my father." I mumbled to myself.
"Your father never trained in Shadow Magic, but he achieved a different sort of Dark Form that had the same results." Mira stated. "There is no coming back from it, once you throw yourself into shadow; you're lost forever."
I didn't entirely agree with that notion, but I wasn't about to start arguing with her about it. I nodded my head, accepting her statement as Mira smiled at my compliance.
"What you will be working on for the time being is the art of Summoning, pertaining to objects and, in some cases, creatures." Mira announced.
"Isn't that teleporting?" I asked curiously.
"No, there's summoning, and then there is teleporting. There's a difference." Mira explained, moving her hands side to side as if to visually depict a gap between the two.
"What's the difference?" I asked.
"Teleporting is sending objects, ponies, creatures, monsters, and yourself to a location that is away from you." Mira started to define. "Summoning is taking an object, a monster, a creature, or even a pony and bringing it to you."
"That sounds hard." I admitted, thinking about it.
"It's actually a lot simpler then it seems, as long as you know what you're doing." Mira raised her finger. "I'm going to have you start with something easy so you can work your way up to the harder ones."
Mira floated away towards the side of the cave wall where she picked up a small stone. She carried it back to me, placing it on the ground in front of me.
"I hope you've been practicing your runes like I told you to." Mira remarked.
"Oh no, not this again! I hate drawing these silly shapes!" I whined, already hating this. "Do you know how hard it is to draw a rhombicosidodecahedron?"
Mira slapped me upside the head, pointing down at the rock in front of me expectantly.
"Just draw it and place the rock at its center." Mira instructed.
Reluctantly I started to trace the rune with the tip of my hoof, it was a very long and detailed process that left no room for error on this dirt floor; any mistake would mean having to start over from the beginning. Surprisingly though, Mira waited patiently for me, studying my movements, and ability to draw this rune well.
"You missed a portion." Mira mumbled beside me.
Floating down, Mira traced her finger through the dirt to connect several more lines to edges to complete my overly complicated rune.
"Okay, you're ready to perform a simple 'matter summon' with this rock." Mira stated.
Taking me by the ear, which sort of hurt, she led me away from the rock to the other side of the cave.
"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow." I muttered feeling like my ear was going to rip off.
"You'll need to imagine that specific rune in your mind, trace it as fast as you can within your head, focus on the object you had left there and feel your magic bringing it closer to you." Mira instructed, letting go of my ear.
"Does it have to be drawn the same way I did it over there when I'm tracing it in my head?" I asked trying to picture it.
"With inanimate objects the spell does not require you to mimic it exactly the way you drew it, just draw it in your head and imagine bringing that rock closer to you." Mira replied, trying to dumb it down for me.
Mira claimed it was simple, and I had some hours of practice drawing that particular rune, it was still very difficult to picture it in my head. Closing my eyes, I thought I had a better chance of drawing it without any visual distractions. I could feel myself tensing for no real reason, I was trying to focus so hard on the shape in my mind that I felt uncomfortable sitting there with my eyes shut. The rock itself sat motionless, the dirt drawing on the runes remained untouched, and Mira started to frown.
"Well?" Mira asked, sounding annoyed.
"I'm not really sure what's supposed to be happening." I replied, eyes still closed; imagining myself drawing that rune.
"Draw and pull. Draw and pull." Mira said, waving her finger around and then pulling her arms close to her chest mimic the action.
"Yeah, I got that." I mumbled.
Several hours had gone by, the rock remained unmoved. I had fallen asleep a few times, having kept my eyes closed for so long, but Mira was at the ready to slap me awake. Much like any other spell Mira had tried to teach me, I was slow to pick it up, but I would keep at it until I was able to do it without so much effort.
"This isn't a hard spell you know." Mira mumbled, floating just above me; her arms tucked under her head lazing about. "Eventually won't even need the runes to do it."
"Then why am I using them now?" I asked, trying my best to maintain focus.
"The runes act as a sort of magical space, whatever is within the rune that conforms to the amount of geometric space provided will be transported to you. Think of it as putting a small object in a large sack, and bringing that sack with you." Mira explained, with a yawn.
"How is a pony supposed to do it without the runes?" I asked curiously, still struggling with the apparent handicap.
"Summoning an object takes a lot of focus, you must be able to understand the objects dimensions and weight, drawing your own spatial dimension around the object itself in a much smaller radius and bringing it to you. Think of it as mentally outlining an object with your mind, as close as you can get, and having it appear in front of you." Mira elaborated further.
I was starting to understand the need for the rune at this point; I was trying to move a predetermined space to me. Visualizing a pattern I was already familiar with was hard enough but trying to do it without the rune would require much more focus and thought. Although, the idea of the stone being within a sack did click with me, having simply thought of having the rock brought to me on a flat surface, much like the drawing was, I started to picture it surrounded in a sphere.
"This is just the first step in summoning, if you can master the basic of-" Mira stopped short from the sudden hissing sound coming from the stone.
The dirt drawing of the rune started to trace itself with fiery red magic. It wasn't long before the entire drawing was outlined with magic as the stone beginning to levitate off the ground. The rune itself rose from the ground, expanding into a sphere, twirling around the rock before popping out of existence. There was a soft thud as the stone plopped in front of me. I opened my eyes to look down, and was quite surprised it had worked.
"Hey!" I said, sounding very pleased with myself.
"Beginners luck." Mira mumbled, crossing her arms.
"I moved it, didn't I?" I asked, having met her requirements.
"Well this time you have to do it without the rune." Mira said in a matter of fact tone.
Floating down Mira swiped up the stone, holding it up to me so I could get a good look at it.
"Had a good look?" Mira asked.
"I guess so." I replied, almost crossed eyed looking at it.
"Good." Mira replied, chucking the stone across the cave. "Now summon this rock, again."
"Is this really necessary?" I asked, not looking forward to the hours of concentration that were sure to follow.
"Look, every pony with a horn magically summons things out of nowhere, but technically they had to have been somewhere. They just know the item so well that they can summon it without thinking half the time, so stop complaining and get to it." Mira replied, laying the hard truth out before me.
Sighing in defeat, I looked over at the stone, trying my best to become familiar with it as best I could. Mira floated past me, heading towards the tunnel that led to Azimuth's Tomb, which had me looking after her.
"Where are you going?" I asked curiously.
"I'm going for a walk, is that alright with you?" Mira asked with a snap.
"But you're floating." I remarked.
I watched Mira hiss at me, ignoring my words and continued towards the tunnel. I guess any pony would rather be doing anything then watching me stare at a stone for a couple more hours. Although, even having Mira sigh constantly as she hovered around me was more preferable then being left all alone.
Mira drifted down the tunnel, the soft blue glow of her stardust like hair illuminated the walls. Stretching her arms over her head, Mira yawned once again, before coming to the cliff expanse that stretched over Azimuth's tomb. There wasn't much to do here, it was just a way to think to herself without having Smolder around. Letting herself float down onto the cliff's ledge, Mira sat at its lip, letting her legs dangle off the side as she stared down into the deep dark abyss. Holding her hands up to her face, watching her markings pulse a soft green, Mira grimaced at them. Hissing angrily at herself, Mira slowly raked her face with her fingers trying to claw out her own self-loathing. Letting her arms drop to her side, she exhaled loudly, looking rather depressed.
"…I'm sorry." Mira whispered.
Holding up her hand, a small green flame danced about, taking shape into a miniature Alicorn mare. Staring at it with a small smile, watching it fizzle in her hand.
Within the darkness the sudden sound of scraping echoed in the deep. Mira's head bolted up, a look of worry and fear suddenly about her; the flames in her hand fizzled away. Backing away from the edge of the expanse, Mira levitated into the air to rush back towards the tunnel entrance. She floated right into a wall of scales that had her doubling back quickly, hovering back near the cliff's edge as a massive creature towered before her.
"Apep." Mira whispered voice full of fear.
"Mira, what a sssssurprissssse. Long time no sssssssee." Apep remarked, holding on the 's' of his words.
Apep hated the light more than any other creature; aside from the Void. For he was one of Nadir's first monsters, a creature made to devour the Arcana, but now severed as Null's advocate when called upon. His eye melted from the battle long ago against Glow, yet his remaining eyes stared unblinking at Mira.
"I-I-I-I-I-I…" Mira stammered nervously, pulling on her fingers.
"Why ssssssso tenssssssse?" Apep asked, slithering closer to her. "Are you not happy to ssssssssssee me? It's been sssssssssso long."
Mira trembled in her fear before it.
"Nothing to sssssssssay?" Apep asked, venomously. "What a ssssssssstrange placccccccce to find you."
"I w-w-w-was just…" Mira mumbled, watching Apep coil around her. "Thinking."
Apep stopped his slithering, his head slowly lowering down towards Mira; his tongue flicking her face.
"Thinking?" Apep questioned her. "About what?"
"J-J-Just… thinking." Mira replied, shaking all over.
Rearing his head back, Apep's tongue flicked again.
"I bring word from the Masssssster," Apep began. "Your gift wasssssss greatly reccccccieved."
"Gift?" Mira asked in a squeak.
"The Dragon you procured from the realm of light, it pleasssssssed him." Apep explained, coiling around her some more.
"I-I-I-I aim to please." Mira whispered, feeling Apep's scales run across her arm.
"The Massssssssster had thought you dead. Having not sssssssseen you for ssssssssso long." Apep hissed. "I thought differently."
Apep's glossy black eye, being reflected by Mira's soft blue hair, stared menacingly at her. Mira dare not move, afraid that Apep would find it as a show of force and devour her without hesitation; taking great pleasure in watching Mira fear for her life.
"You look different from before." Apep remarked, tilting his head ever so slightly. "SSSSSSStronger even."
"R-R-R-Really?" Mira asked, holding her hands up to her chin; trying her best to stop her shaking. "I don't feel… any stronger."
"Have you been hoarding ssssssssome light?" Apep asked, his coiled body slowly circling her.
"O-O-O-Of course not." Mira said quickly, floating back.
Apep's body suddenly shifted, its coiled body snapping around Mira, causing her to shriek in pain. Pinning her arms at her sides, Apep lowered his head down to her, letting his tongue flick her in the face. Watching her wheeze as she only able to take small breaths at a time; listening to her whimper through each gasp.
"Don't you lie to me! I know of your kind, Arcana, I have eaten enough of your brethren to know that you need the light to ssssssurvive." Apep hissed angrily, watching her squirm.
Mira couldn't respond, just barely able to breathe as Apep began to tighten his grip.
"You do not have that Flame Pony to protect you anymore and that wolf won't sssssssave you thissssssss time!" Apep shouted, baring his fangs at her.
Small squeals of pain escaped Mira's throat, unable to take a breath. Tears beginning to run down her face.
"What are you hiding? Could it be ssssssome Will-o'-the-wissssssp? Or maybe a dying sssssstar from a time before?" Apep questioned her. "What do you have? Tell me!"
There came a screech that echoed through the cavern, Apep's head whipped around witnessing a sudden explosion of fire above him. The flames morphing into the shape of a blazing phoenix, burning wildly, illuminating the cavern, as it dived upon Apep who hissed violently; blinded and burned by the sheer amount of light and fire.
The flame shaped phoenix slammed into Apep's face, his body quickly uncoiling from Mira as it tried to secure itself from falling from the cliff expanse. Mira fell limp to the ground. Hissing in pain from the burns, Apep fell back; his head hitting against the cliff's edge. With a whip of my wings the fiery phoenix dissipated as I stood upon the snake's pointed snout, an angry scowl strewn across my face.
"She has me!" I shouted at the snake; my Flash Step erupting.
My horn flashed a brilliant red light, my fire suddenly expanding into a small sun, consuming much of the snake before imploding and breaking apart the cliff face. With a shriek, the snake fell into the abyss, its body burning from my flames as it fell down into the dark abyss. Opening my wings I hovered in the air, looking about for where Mira was. I saw a flash of blue that fell into the abyss below me; my only guess was Mira, tucking my wings I dived after her.
"Mira!" I shouted to her.
I sped through the darkness, Mira coming into view. I could see her clutching her arms, as well as her sides, and coughing hoarsely. I reached out my wing, feeling Mira's hand take hold of it. Pulling her onto my back, I fanned open my wings letting myself drift through the air, as Mira clung to my neck; massaging her neck as she wheezed.
"Are you alright?" I asked, looking over my shoulder at her.
"I'll… be alright…" Mira mumbled quietly.
"What was that?" I asked, looking into the blackness below.
"His name… is Apep…" Mira wheezed. "We have to… stop him… from escaping."
"You're kidding, right?" I asked, not finding the idea of fighting a snake of that size hoof to fang a good idea.
"If he tells Null… about you… he'll start killing more Void Walkers to find you." Mira explained a sense of urgency in her voice.
I could feel Mira's arm hug me tighter. She wasn't worried about herself as much as she was about the Void Walkers. She still looked very frightened, I could still feel her shaking, and it made me angry to think of how the snake had harmed her. I allowed my wings to carry me down deeper into Azimuth's Tomb, ready to face off against this snake called Apep.
"Apep despises the light." Mira whispered to me.
"Why?" I asked, seeing the black sand at the bottom of the cavern come into view.
"He wasn't made from it. He was born from the spit of Nadir's hate, and he won't hesitate to swallow you whole." Mira warned, starting to sound better.
"Born from what?" I asked, looking rather disgusted.
We touched down on the black sand, my flames still flaring strong, Mira held onto me tightly; I could sense that she was still very much afraid. I raised my wings a bit higher to shield her from both sides, turning slowly in place hoping to see something in the darkness.
"Smolder…" Mira whispered to me.
"Yeah?" I answered back.
"I don't… deserve a friend like you." Mira whispered once more.
I glanced over my shoulder. I could see her staring back at me, wondering what I was thinking.
"Yes, you do." I said with a smile.
A sudden explosion of sand erupted several feet away, Apep's mouth opening wide, lunging for us. All I could think of was protecting Mira from this snake; my magic seemed to understand this as the fangs of Apep struck my shield deflecting his head away from us. Taking several leaps back, I put some distance away from the snake, watching its body writhe around, swinging its tail wildly towards us.
"You're not the Flame Pony I ssssssaw, you are much too sssssssmall." Apep stated, slithering just outside the glow of my fire; his eyes reflecting my flames.
"That's not the firssssssst time I've heard that." I mocked him.
"Impudenccccccce! " Apep hissed in anger. "Hassssss the Arcana not told you about me?"
"Big ugly snake with a lisp, what's to know?" I asked; keeping my eyes trained on it.
The snake was sure to have speed over me. I would need to use my Flash Step to stand a chance of keeping up with it, but I had my magic to work with now. My mind was racing for ideas on how to bring it down, but nothing really stood out. All the time in the Ashen Fields, we never had a problem with snakes, most of the time they liked the warmth we produced, but then again none were as big as this one.
"I will sssssswallow you whole and bring you to the Masssssssster persssssssonally." Apep threatened, retreating in the darkness.
"Do you have a plan?" Mira whispered to me.
"Other than 'don't get eaten', not really." I replied, looking around once more.
Pacing around in a small circle, I strained my ears to hear anything that might give me a clue to where Apep may be. I could feel my fire mounting within me, ready to blast fire the first chance the snake would give me, but I knew it wasn't going to be enough. I was also beginning to understand the pain and anger I needed to feel to produce the sort of magic Mira was teaching me. Channeling my anger over this snake's attack on Mira, I could feel my power rising, but using it to defend her.
There was a second explosion of sand to my right, it had me turning hard to face it. What I saw was the end of Apep's tail shooting up from the ground, with yet another sound of an explosion of sand erupting just behind me. With less than a moment to think, I just thought about being somewhere else.
Apep's mouth struck a patch of black sand, missing his target, shaking the dirt from his mouth before looking about. With a small flash, Mira and I reappeared several yards away, having narrowly teleported from being lunch. I felt a large source of my magic disappear as teleporting seemed to be getting easier but it still drained me considerably.
"Does it have any weaknesses?" I asked Mira hopefully.
"Like what?" Mira asked, clutching me tighter.
"I don't know. Loud noises? Weak stomach? Is it ticklish?" I asked quickly, grasping at ideas.
"Yeah, let's just try and tickle it into submission." Mira scoffed, sounding more like herself.
"You never know." I replied, watching Apep coil himself up.
Flaring my body, I pushed myself into my Flash Step. Mira clung to me, unfazed by my flames, keeping her head down. Apep flicked its tongue at me, before hissing threateningly at me; obviously disturbed by my light. From the light of my flames I noticed the melted eye of the snake this time, having eluded me earlier.
"What's up with its eye?" I asked Mira quietly.
"Your… your Mom melted it." Mira stated slowly.
Her words had taken me aback; I didn't realize that my mother had faced this creature as well. I thought that it referred to my father as being the other Flame Pony it had seen. It brought up so many questions I wanted to ask Mira but the lowering of Apep's head had me focused once more.
Like a pressed spring, Apep sprung from his perch, mouth wide to strike once more. Pushing off the sand I slide to the side of its attack, watching Apep plow into the sand, but I failed to notice its tail as it swung through the air after him striking be broadside and sending us skipping across the black sand.
I felt dazed from the hit. My Flash Step flaring as I attempted to keep it ignited, struggling to pick myself up. Apep swam across the sea of black sand, darting its way straight towards me, closing the distance quickly. Opening my wings, trying to attempt to fly out his reach, I felt Mira's hand press down against my head as she lifted herself higher.
Raising her free hand, a burst of black aura ignited in her hand, sending a shock wave out from us. A sudden forest of black spikes sprung from the sand dotting the area around us, it was like a forest needles, Apep diverted his approach hissing as he slithered away from the spikes.
"Cool." I said to her; Mira slapped the back side of my head.
"Get moving!" Mira demanded.
The spikes eventually stopped chasing Apep, with Mira's magic started to fade causing the spikes to dissolve as well. Apep seemed to realize this as he made a straight shot towards us once more. With my Flash Step burning hot once more, I opened my wings, leaping high into the air and flying away from Apep. Deciding to test the snake, I spat several streams of fire at it, watching it quickly whip from side to side to evade it.
"Is any of my magic going to work on it?" I asked aloud, trying to keep the distance between us and the snake.
"Apep isn't magical but you're not fast enough at your current level to cast a spell that will be strong or quick enough to take him out." Mira informed me.
"I guess that just leaves burning it." I muttered, watching Apep easily evade yet another blast of fire.
"You'll have to get close." Mira informed me.
"Not really liking that idea." I replied, watching Apep dive back into the sand below.
I hovered in the air, not knowing how far Apep was capable of leaping from the ground into the air, so I kept my height rather high to be on the safe side. I was wracking my brain for ideas, getting close to Apep was impossible, even with my Flash Step he would beat me in speed hoofs down. Even though I had range for the moment, Apep was able to easily avoid my attacks without much difficulty. Which meant that it would come down to a one on one attack, let Apep get close enough and give him everything I got before he got me. Needless to say I did not like this plan.
"Why is that snake so big anyways?" I asked, scanning the black sand for movement.
"Nadir made all his creatures monstrously big." Mira remarked, helping me look around.
"Then why are you so small?" I asked curiously.
"Nadir didn't make me! Azimuth did!" Mira hissed sounding offended.
I lifted my head up, having felt a sudden plan come to mind.
"I have an idea." I said looking over my shoulder.
Apep slithered beneath the sand. Feeling every vibration of the sand, just waiting for the Flame Pony to land once more and give him the chance to strike again. A sudden soft pulse had Apep turning towards its direction, it was stationary. The heartbeat of the Flame Pony was steady to Apep. Before it had been racing, the fight bringing out the fear in the Flame Pony but it seemed rather calm now. Raising itself from the sand, Apep looked towards the Flame Pony that stood a ways off, its flames low, standing idly by.
"What'sssssssss thisssssss then?" Apep hissed curiously.
"Just waiting for you to show your big dumb face to cast my new spell at you." I said aloud.
"SSSSSSSSpell?" Apep hissed, seeming defensive.
"Mira taught it to me, and I'm going to blow you away with it." I said confidently.
I placed my hoof in the sand, beginning to trace the rune from earlier, carefully drawing each line as quickly as I could. Apep reared up in surprise, not knowing what I was doing but saw that it was not instant. Exploding from the spot, Apep dashed towards me, as I tried not to get distracted by its speed.
"I have time. I only need to reach it before it hasssss time to finissssssssh." Apep thought to itself.
I drew another line; just a few more strokes away before looking up to see Apep just a few yards away. I stepped back in surprise, seeing it so close.
"Too late Flame Pony!" Apep hissed aloud.
Apep dived towards me, I raised my wing to shield myself from it. A moment later a giant hand slammed down atop of Apep, pinning it to the ground, nearly flattening it; Apep hissing and coughing from the pain. I lowered my wing, flaring my mane a bit as I turned around to look up at Azimuth reaching over me grasping the giant serpent.
My planned involved Mira taking control of Azimuth once more, borrowing a large portion of my power to do so, and trick Apep into getting close enough to spring out trap. Azimuth lifted her arm back up, with Apep firmly in hand, struggling wildly in her grasp attempting to pierce Azimuth with its fangs but had no luck. Apep was face to face with the vacant expression of Azimuth, her giant yellow eyes suddenly opening and sending Apep into a frenzy of fear.
"Releasssssssssse me!" Apep shrieked.
"THIS IS FOR MY FRIENDS!" Mira's voice boomed through Azimuth's mouth.
Azimuth's fist clenched with a sickening crunch, Apep recoiled before falling limp with her fist. Slowly opening her hand, I watched as the giant snake slid from her grasp and fell to the floor with a thunderous slam; dead. I glanced up to see Azimuth lowering her arms at her sides, knowing that I needed to get Mira out of Azimuth's body right away before it leeched all of her power.
Closing my eyes, I took a breath and concentrated. I focused my magic, imagining Mira in my mind. I tried to picture her perfectly, her exact size, her shape, every detail down to the last strands of her hair, thinking of her floating before me. My magic was slowly reacting, I had been in this cave for so long I knew Mira better than any pony; it just had to work. I felt a sudden upheaval of my power, my horn drawing power from my strength and flames; all the while focusing on my image of Mira. That swell of power suddenly subsided, I felt as if I had been running laps with Rainbow Dash again. I was breathing hard, but I still had my eyes closed picturing Mira in my mind. I felt a small hand gently slap the side of my face.
"Not bad." Mira whispered to me.
I opened my eyes. Mira floated before me, a smile across her face, one so genuine that it made me smile wide.
"I guess I'm not a stupid Flame-" I stopped short.
Mira had leaned in, hugging me tightly around the neck. It surprised me, not thinking Mira was one to show affection on such a level, but it did make my mane suddenly flare up from embarrassment. I gently patted her with my hoof, awkwardly trying to reciprocate the feeling. She pulled away from me, slapping a bit harder on the face, catching me by surprise as she floated towards the corpse of Apep; this was the Mira I knew best. Mira spat upon Apep's corpse, hissing at one last time, her hands balled into fists letting her feelings of anger for it wash over her one last time. Then I watched Mira take hold of one Apep's fangs and started to jerk it back and forth trying to rip it from its mouth.
"Ummmm…" I hummed in confusion watching her work the fang.
"Don't just stand there, stupid, get the eyeball." Mira ordered me.