Glow Sunbeam was stirring from her sleep. Her flames flared with her yawn, bathing the dark room with light. Getting to her hooves, Glow stretched her wings, hearing several cricks and cracks of her joints popping. Looking around, Glow was surprised to find the blue glow of Mira’s stardust like hair missing from the room. Rok, the enormous wolf laid near the opening of the room, whining softly. Its matted fur was thick with the black sludge of Hoopoe’s feather and Kana’s slime, Rok was still recovering from its wounds. Not wanting to surprise the wolf, nor approach it while it was in a vulnerable state, Glow thought it best to make her presence known.
“Ahem.” Glow cleared her throat.
Rok’s head turned towards her, its black eyes reflecting the flames of her mane. It whined loudly to Glow, looking back out from the hole of the room, continuing to whine; causing her to understand that something was wrong.
“Where’s Mira, Rok?” Glow asked suddenly.
Rok howled at the sound of Mira’s name, shaking the loose dust from the ceiling. Glow’s horn brimmed with magic, disappearing on the spot and reappearing out on the streets just outside the building. The streets were empty, even the melted scorpions left behind after their battle had been meticulously devoured by the rodents in the Forgotten City. Turning to look at Rok, Glow saw a burnt engraving upon the wall near Rok; it was a message surely left by Mira.
“Goodbye.” Glow read the words aloud looking confused by its meaning.
Looking about the empty streets, calling out Mira’s name, Glow knew that Mira must have had quite the head start on her. Flaring her wings, Glow took to the air, flying high up alongside the building and landing up the rooftop to get a better view of the city. The Forgotten City spanned wide, it seemed endless in Glow’s eyes, but there wasn’t a hint of light anywhere to be seen.
The sudden crack of thunder had Glow turning on the spot. In the far off distance, Glow could see a ruined castle perched upon a cliff, being consumed by a malicious storm that broke bolts of lightning and thunder every few moments. Glow stared at the phenomenon, unsure of what to make of it.
“Mira…” Glow whispered watching the storm rage in the distance.
Mira stood within the ruins of Castle Naught, her neon green markings pulsing softly, her blue stardust like hair gently drifting in the air. The castle’s floor laid broken, its walls shattered beyond repair, there was little left to be called a ceiling, but it was once her home. A crack of thunder echoed across the Fields of Orouboros, the black clouds of the Storm drifting up from the abyss beneath the underside of the cliff. Floating like a mist, the Storm began to envelop the entire castle, and even amongst the thunderous roar of the Storm the familiar sound of paper tearing could be heard growing closer and closer.
Null appeared from the darkness, its body still a husk, empty, the tattered robe it wore peeled from its body, its fractured mask slowly crumbling piece by piece. It walked with a purpose, staggering a few steps, its arm twitching violently at its side; its focus completely on Mira. Stopping only a few steps from Mira, Null swayed on the spot, it was hard to tell with how disfigured Null looked, but Mira knew he was starving.
Raising his arm, Null snapped its husk like fingers, creating a dark portal beside him, the purple Arcana known as Tear fell out. Tear’s markings and stardust like hair were barely pulsing, she was so weak she could barely move, gasping for breath; clawing the floor with her hand.
“Did you bring the Flame Pony?” Null asked in a rasp.
“No.” Mira replied.
Null’s head snapped sideways, staggering abruptly towards Mira, reaching for her with its shaking arm, but stopping short of touching her face. Mira didn’t cower away from him, but simply stared at him with such seething hatred.
“You’ve failed me.” Null hissed to her.
“Everyone.” Mira corrected him.
Null’s head slowly turned itself up right, lowering its arm from her face, watching her markings pulse violently as she spoke.
“I failed everyone. I was supposed to protect them, but I failed. I tried, and I tried, but in the end I lost everything. All because I let you live.” Mira said coldly to Null. “I’m ready to die now, with the comfort of knowing that you’ll never leave this place, and that the Flame Pony will be safe.”
“You’re hiding it from me.” Null hissed in anger.
Mira didn’t reply. She held out her arms, pressing her palms against Null’s stomach. Null took hold of her arms, watching her shadow magic plume from her hands against him.
“I’m protecting her from you.” Mira corrected him once more.
With a shriek Mira’s shadow magic exploded from her hands. Long thin shadow spikes, blackened like the night sky, skewered Null in several horrid directions; staking him to the ground. Null’s arms fell limp to his sides, the Storm surrounding the castle seemed to tremble in agony; roaring in its pain.
Leaping back, floating up into the air, Mira slammed her hands together slowly drawing them apart as black flames seared from her fingers. Throwing her arms out to her sides, Mira conjured a large orb of black fire before her. Raising her arms over her head, the black orb of fire followed her movements, before she brought down her hands towards Null.
The black orb of fire impacted Null, breaking the spikes that bound him to the ground, and pushing him back across the ruined floor of the castle. Debris from the floor flew in every direction, the black orb of fire decimating the stone like glass before exploding and throwing Null off the edge of the cliff. The Storm retreated from the castle, racing back off the edge of the cliff, chasing after Null.
Mira rushed over to Tear who wept silently to her herself. Lifting Tear off the ground, Mira held her gently, carefully caressing her and whispering how sorry she was for what she had been through.
“I’ll get you out of here, I promise.” Mira whispered to her; pulling Tear’s arm over her shoulder.
Mira was now carrying Tear, she was too weak to float on her own, but it was a miracle she was still alive at this point; with how weak she had become. Turning to leave, Mira found herself staring a Null’s stomach once more. The Storm quietly seeping from the holes Mira’s shadow magic had caused.
Hissing in frustration, Mira let Tear drop, dark aura billowing from her hands, but Null struck first. The Storm exploded from his chest, the force driving Mira back, slamming her through a severed pillar before retreating back inside Null. Mira picked herself up from the rubble, thin lines of blue essence streaked from her mouth; hissing in pain.
“Where are you keeping it?” Null’s voice hissed; the sound of paper shredding with each word her spoke.
Flinging her arm towards Null, Mira’s shadow magic flew from her hand like whips, striking and coiling themselves around him. Tossing her hand in the air, her shadow magic snapped from her fingers tips, lashing out the edges of the castle; binding Null on the spot.
Holding both hands out in front of her, Mira concentrated her power; the blue in her hair began to shine brightly, seeping into the marking on her arms as her eyes burned neon blue. Mira began to utter her incantation, the wind swirling around her, levitating loose rubble from the floor and throwing it high into the air.
Her eyes were focused upon Null, her attack nearly complete, but noticing the billowing of smoke on the ground before her. The Storm encased Null, vanishing on the spot, and suddenly imploding before Mira. His hand violently taking hold her neck, Mira eyes suddenly dimming to their natural yellow, her power slowly diminishing; struggling to breathe.
“Tell me.” Null hissed at her.
“…no…” Mira gasped, clawing at his husk like arm.
Null let Mira drop from her grip. Striking the floor, Mira gasped for air, clutching her throat as she got to her hands and knees. Looking up towards him, Mira caught Null’s fist on the side of her face, driving her head right into the ground. Holding his hand out over her the Storm exploded from his palm, as it began to devour Mira’s light. Mira thrashed about, screaming in agony, feeling as if every inch of her body was being peeled away bit by bit.
Lowering his arm, Null watched Mira squirm upon the ground, hundreds upon thousands of small cuts littering her body. The markings upon her limbs were softly glowing, her hair a dim blue, but Mira still struggled to lift herself. Reaching down, Null took hold of her hair, lifting her from the ground and holding her up to his face.
“Where is the Flame Pony?” Null whispered to her.
Mira spat in his face. The Storm within Null groaned its roar, shaking the castle around him, his rage mounting, and the clouds seeping from the holes in his body.
“Your light… belongs to me now…” Null hissed at her. “I promise you… it will be painful…”
Null’s arm snapped out to his side, the Storm suddenly swarming around it, howling at the prospect of feasting upon Mira once more. Mira stared into the shattered mask the Null wore; she knew this was the end, closing her eyes to wait for the Storm’s horrific embrace.
An immense yellow light flooded the shattered interior of the castle, bathing the back of Null in a golden glow; the searing of flames burning the air around them. Null’s head twitched slightly, dropping Mira and turning around in an instant, he stood face to face with the Flame Pony; engulfed in storm of her own flames.
“I promise you… this will be painful.” Glow whispered coldly.
An eruption of fire exploded from Glow’s mouth. The impact of the blast was so forceful it knocked Null from his feet, sending him flying from the cliff into the abyss. The Storm exploded from Null’s body, roaring in its ferocity, levitating Null in the darkness.
“What… are you… doing here?” Mira wheezed in anger. “Run… you stupid… Flame Pony.”
Reaching out her wing, Glow traced her fiery feathers over Mira’s body, sharing her fire with her; restoring much of Mira’s old strength. Mira lifted herself from the ground, looking at her arms seeing her wounds begin to vanish.
“I’m here to save you, Mira.” Glow stated.
“I didn’t ask to be saved! You were supposed to go back to your stupid kids!” Mira shouted, terrified for her.
“You’re my friend, Mira.” Glow said looking at her. “I made you a promise, and I plan to keep it.”
Even with the fire that surrounded her body, Mira could see the warmest smile Glow had ever given her. Tears began to well in Mira’s eyes, not knowing what to say.
“You will be consumed along with the Arcana, Flame Pony!” Null’s voice boomed across the Kingdom of Naught.
“You will not touch her again!” Glow declared angrily.
Flaring her flames, Glow stood within an inferno of fire, one that filled the entirety of the castle. The Storm billowed towards her with great speed, funnels resembling tornados stretched out from Null’s body barreling down towards her. The Storm impacted her fire before immediately burning away from the touch. Null shrieked in agony, the Storm howling, growing in its size, thunderously booming in its frustration from it being thwarted. Null leaped out of the air, landing hard upon the cliff, throwing the Storm back towards her, but the results were the same, the Storm burned away at the touch of her flames.
Mira was staring in disbelief at what she was seeing, nothing had ever hurt Null before, let alone the Storm, but the sharp rasps of Tear snapped her back into focus. Backing away, rushing towards Tear who weakly smiled at the flames that surrounded her, Mira pulled her up onto her shoulder once more before taking one final look at Glow. Glow was marching forward, forcing Null to retreat, and trying relentlessly to absorb her light. Taking the opportunity, Mira floated off with Tear to bring her someplace safe, leaving Glow to face Null alone.
“What is this magic?” Null’s voice boomed angrily across the fields; the Storm roaring loudly in his anger.
“You have tormented this world long enough!” Glow declared.
Her horn swelled with light, focusing a beam of magic that pierced straight through Null’s body, the fragments of the beam thinned before exploding in a line she had traced exploding him on the spot. The Storm surrounded Null, his shattered mask had been destroyed, and his vacant face visible to her now. Its eye sockets were hollow, its face gaunt, it looked starved, but more importantly it looked afraid.
Null raised its arms, the ground beneath Glow suddenly erupted the Storm tunneling beneath her, throwing her high into the air. Glow caught herself with her wings, watching the Storm surround her, roaring, casting bolts of lightning all around her; the thunder shaking the air. Looking below, Glow saw Null flying straight up towards her, his arms coated with shadow magic, shaped like swords.
Flaring her wings, her horn sparked with magic creating an orb of light around her. Null struck the shield, the shadow magic smashing against it, unable to break through. Glow watched as the shadows inked its way across the orb, concealing her in shadow. There was a vicious strike that knocked Glow hard out of the air, feeling her shield impact the ground, shattering from the force. Quickly rising to her hooves, Glow exploded with fire once more, watching Null hang in the air high above her.
Lifting his arms, the Storm swirled around Null before racing down towards the castle. The Storm broke pieces away walls, dug up stone from the ground, lifting these pieces high into the air; Glow knew what was coming next. With a thrust of his hand, Null sent a volley of rocks at her.
Raising her wings, her horn glowing with magic, the flames on her wings turned white hot as she started to whip them towards the incoming debris. Streaks of fire slashed through the air, cleaving the stones in two, vaporizing some, while the halves fell to the wayside. With her focus on the rocks above, the Storm struck from below, washing over her; consuming her within its clouds. Null lowered its arms, floating down to the floor of the castle, watching the Storm encapsulate her flames.
With sudden flurry of fire, Glow’s flames dispelled the Storm, burning a great majority of it, causing Null to stagger back from the blast. Rearing back, Glow let loose a torrent of fire that washed over Null, consuming him within the flames. The Storm roared in agony, it stretched high from Null attempting to escape the fire as it twisted and turned in its pain. Null fell to his knees, its body burning away from Glow’s fire, the Storm trying to wretch itself away from him.
“This will end it!” Glow declared rearing back once more.
Mira floated as fast as she could, carrying Tear at her side, trying to reach the eastern edge of the Fields of Ouroboros; near the Shatter Ocean of Existence. Two Obelisks stood in the distance, masked in the darkness, standing ominously, the only thing towering as far as the eye could see. Growing closer, Mira slowed to a stop, placing Tear upon the black sand, before standing before the two Obelisks.
Taking several deep breaths, Mira raised her arms up to the Obelisks, her neon green markings to pulse and causing the Obelisks to do the same with similar colors. Mira’s energy was suddenly drawn from her hands, being absorbed into the Obelisks, glowing brighter and brighter with every second. The amount of power needed used to require three or four Arcana to open a portal, each being at the peak of their power to do so, but Mira was alone; giving what she could.
There was a sudden crack boomed across the Fields of Ouroboros, a single black orb appeared high above them. Mira fell to the ground, her green marking nearly white, her hair ghastly blue, having used up all of her power. The black orb had drawn itself in a line before splitting open and revealing a dark world beyond it. Pulling herself towards Tear, Mira got to her feet, dragging Tear towards the portal, already beginning to see the Obelisks ability to maintain the portal waver.
“No matter what happens, don’t ever come back to this place. You got that?” Mira hissed at her.
“Mira…” Tear whispered weakly.
Pulling Tear to the edge of the portal, Mira tossed Tear through watching her slump to the dirt on the other side. The Obelisks were losing power, the portal beginning to close. Mira looked back towards the castle watching the Storm and Glow’s flames plume in distance, before looking back towards Tear.
“Goodbye, Tear.” Mira said sadly.
Turning her back towards Tear, Mira walked away from the closing portal, the black line receding back up into the orb before disappearing altogether. Try as she might, she had no strength left to float, forcing her to walk upon the ground. The Obelisks had robbed her of most of her power, unable to run for more than a few steps before tripping from exhaustion and sliding in the black sand.
Nearing the base of the cliff, the road leading up to the ruined castle lay before her as a sudden stillness came across the fields. The Kingdom of Naught was silent; all that could be heard was Mira’s short rasps staring up at the castle wondering what had happened.
The Storm rose up over the front of the castle, cascading down the road like water, the clouds billowing before Mira. From the darkness of the Storm, Null stepped out. His body still a husk, pieces of his skin ripping away in the breeze as he towered before Mira.
Staring up at him in disbelief, Mira shook with fear, finding it hard to stand anymore. Null reached out, touching her face, gently stroking his finger along her cheek to her chin, and then slapped her across the face with back of his hand. Mira remained on the ground, her hands clenching the sand, eyes beginning to well with tears again.
“Thank you for bringing me the Flame Pony.” Null hissed to her.
Mira covered her face with her hands, wailing in sorrow, knowing that Glow had been devoured by the Storm. Null stood over her, watching her wail for some time before turning to head back up towards the cliff’s expanse to step into the abyss once more.
“Now bring me the other Flame Pony.” Null ordered her.
The Storm consumed Null, retreating up the cliff, disappearing over the ruined castle leaving Mira alone in the fields. With her eyes flooded with tears, Mira wiped them with her arms, staring at the markings upon them. Her grief turned to anger; she bit her own arms, claws her own face, thrashing upon the ground unable to bear the guilt of getting her friend killed. After a time, Glow got to her feet, her anger festering deep in her heart, having been asked to find the ‘other’ Flame Pony, Mira knew what she had to do. The cruel heartless beast that had brought Glow here to begin with, the monster that had nearly killed her, who allowed her to die, Mira would become the monster she knew herself to be and steal the power of a Flame Pony.
Mira held out her arms in front of her, her markings glowing brightly, casting the cave in a neon green as she stared at them with such fear. Just as soon as it had started, her markings had dimmed considerably, returning to their normal glow. Tracing her fingers across her markings, Mira looked up from her arms towards the ceiling of the cave wondering what was going on in the fields of Ouroboros. Dropping her gaze, Mira found herself staring at Smolder who had his head tilted ever so slightly, looking at her with concern.
“What?” Mira asked, in a cautious whisper.
“What was too soon?” I asked her.
“What?” Mira asked again, her voice sounding more annoyed.
“You said ‘it was too soon’, and I asked you what was too soon.” I explained to her.
“Something… something is wrong.” Mira mumbled to me. “It was as if something was trying to open a portal to this place again.”
“Oh! Then it must be Sapphire and the others.” I stated with a grin.
“What do you mean?” Mira asked looking confused.
I felt the ground move under my hooves. The entire cave suddenly began to tremble. It reminded me of the Great Dragon Char having taken its leap out onto the Ashen Fields, but this quaking seemed to be growing closer. Mira sunk low, covering her head, shaking all over out of fear. Even underground, the roar of this unknown force from up above disturbed the air around us. I did my best to keep my hooves on the ground, trying to steady myself from this as the shaking began to die down.
Mira refused to look up; still cowering at the otherworldly noise that had passed over us. I waited, listening carefully for whatever was to come next. I could make out the faint sounds of thunder, a howling of wind, before everything went quiet once more. Dropping my gaze from the ceiling to Mira, I placed my hoof upon her shoulder only to have her shriek in fear and cower away from; believing I was something else.
“It’s… it’s just me.” I said reassuringly.
Mira was hyperventilating, having been shaken to her very core. Sitting beside her, I draped my wing over her pulling her closer to me; trying to calm her down. She clung to me for a while, letting her dictate when she was going to be alright again; keeping quiet all the while. It was some time later before Mira seemed to have calmed down, slowly beginning to realize how vulnerable she had let me see her.
“It’s okay. I’m here.” I said trying to sound comforting.
Feeling Mira pull away from me, I watched her float off towards the ceiling of her cave. Straining her ears, Mira tried to listen to anything that might still be up there. An exhaustive sigh informed me that whatever was up there had moved on.
“What was that?” I asked quietly.
“That… was Null.” Mira said sounding rather nervous.
From what I had heard, it really did sound like a raging storm tearing its way across the fields above, and it didn’t paint much of a picture in my mind of what Null looked like; it only sounded horrifying.
“Are you going to be okay?” I asked looking concerned for her.
“Y-Y-You said Sapphire was… was trying to open the portal?” Mira asked nervously; pulling on her fingers.
“Yeah, Sapphire must have figured out my message I left for her and is trying to reach us.” I said to her.
I watched as Mira seemed at a loss for words. She blinked several times, as if trying to think of something to say and failed to even utter a single word.
“You don’t have to worry; Sapphire and the others are very friendly and will want to help you defeat this Null creature.” I said to her reassuringly, stepping towards her.
“Smolder… they… they can’t open the portal, they don’t have your fire.” Mira said to me; still looking worried.
“Well, they sort of do. I left a friend of mine, Tea Herbal, with a lantern with my flame in it. They’ll probably figure out a way to make it work; along with all the other Obelisks.” I explained to her.
“Other… other Obelisks?” Mira whispered in disbelief.
“Sapphire and every pony else are probably looking for the others as we speak. Well, I hope they are. I mean it is a long shot to find the others but I’m sure they’re doing everything they can.” I replied.
“S-S-S-S-Smolder you… you can’t… they’ll… they’ll…” Mira stammered looking rather worried.
“They wouldn’t do anything dangerous, Mira; they’re looking for a way to help us stop Null just like you asked.” I said to her.
“But I asked you to help me.” Mira said quickly pointing at me.
“I know, and I asked my friends to help me.” I said to her.
Mira’s face was looking very worried. She must have been thinking of the possibility of the Storm escaping this place, but I knew that no pony would open the portal if it was too dangerous. Even so, I also knew that they would try just about anything to come after me; at least that’s what I was hoping for.
“You look worried, Mira.” I said to her.
“I’m fine. Just get back to your training.” Mira muttered quickly; turning away from me.
“Mira, I-“ I had started to speak.
“Do you want to help me or not?” Mira asked, interrupting me; her voice sounding rather scared.
“Of-of course I do.” I replied reassuringly.
“Then… please… get stronger… for me.” Mira said slowly.
I nodded my head a few times. Mira had only ever said the word ‘please’ to me one other time, when I had nearly destroyed myself with Elder Dragon Fire. Both times I could hear the genuine fear and concern in her voice. I did what I was asked and returned to the other side of the cave to practice some more, trying to push out my questions, and focus on how I could use my flames as a shield.
Mira floated back towards her jars. Her hands were now trembling for a different reason. The ponies of Equestria were actually trying to come after their friend, they were looking for the other Obelisks, and if they somehow managed to open a portal all of Mira’s plans would be ruined. Mira glanced over at her Flame Pony, pondering to himself about how to solve his dilemma with his fire shield.
“No one was supposed to come for you.” Mira whispered to herself.