//------------------------------//
// 13 The Final Curtain 
// Story: Scootaloo's Return 
// by RebelNarrator45 
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Twilight hadn’t slept well. In fact, she barely even registered she had enjoyed any sleep at all. It had been a week since she had fainted following the second spell and today she had to be prepared for even more as Judgement’s Blessing drew to its conclusion.

Just thinking about it made her feel sick.

All night she had mulled over the various ways the spell today could go wrong; who could get hurt and how badly. She lamented the quirk of fate that had led to her becoming the Bearer of the Element of Magic. It wasn’t as simple as throwing a party, making a dress or singing a song; she was being expected to work with this mercurial stranger to harness magical forces she had never encountered before and deliver a happy ending for all concerned. Just because she had always somehow prevailed before was no guarantee of everything working out this time, but she appreciated that with every past success, expectations among her friends had risen and one day she would fall. 

Please, Celestia, don’t let it be today!

She made her way through the Castle of Friendship slowly, pensively, feeling a tremendous burden of responsibility bearing down on her. When she climbed the last flight of stairs she stared at the door before her, looking at it blankly, mind racing.

She had come too close to failure a week ago and knew that she would need more magical energy if this third and most demanding spell were going to succeed. This would require more than she could provide by herself, but by calling upon the other Element Bearers today, she believed their energy could be channeled through her own Element to boost her power and carry the spell through.

The magical seal she had cast on the door remained untouched from last night, the thousands of magical tripwires woven around the room undisturbed. Twilight deactivated the magic and walked in, looking around to confirm in her own mind that everything was as she had left it. It was.

The lone Princess walked into the middle of the circle marked out on the floor and faced north, the early morning sun blazing in through the stained glass windows on her right, casting brightly coloured images around the room. These very finely crafted windows did not adorn this room as a vulgar display of her opulence, moreover they were to keep prying eyes out, away from what lay within. It would never do for some inquisitive passing pegasus to see what was inside and start spreading rumours that would cause her reputation lasting damage.

Closing her eyes, Twilight allowed her mind to slip into a state of light meditation, seeking solace and mentally preparing herself for the task ahead. Last time, the spell had demanded so much from her that she was concerned, no, genuinely afraid that she may not have what it took when the three young mares presented themselves at the allotted hour.

Her pulse returned to normal, as did her breathing and she soon felt as well as she could, given the task ahead.
“Let’s do this thing” she muttered under her breath, emerging from her trance.
She turned to face the door and left, resealing the room once more and descending the stairs to meet the others whom she knew would be waiting for her downstairs.

“Girls, Dark Magic, thank you for arriving so promptly today” she greeted, surveying the varying looks of trepidation staring back up at her. 

Everypony had their fears, even Pinkie Pie had lost her usual effervescence and looked solemnly back at Twilight, acknowledging her with the merest tip of her head. They had all seen her fall to the floor at the end of the spell a week previously, and while some had blamed Dark Magic for not having done enough to support her, they were all worried that she would be able to see it through.

“Dark Magic” she whispered to the old stallion, turning his muzzle away from the others so that they could neither hear nor see the few private words “Are you up to doing this?”

Their eyes met in silent acknowledgment of the power the other held. His eyes looked tired too, and Twilight could well imagine the night he had gone through. She was secretly glad he had turned up at all. Only two short weeks ago she wouldn’t have placed any money on that happening, but they had developed a bond of trust and she knew she could count on him absolutely in the ordeal that lay ahead.

He reached out a forehoof and gently lifted her muzzle just a fraction.

“Yes, Princess” he replied, “I am ready to do what is expected of me.”

Something in the tone of his voice caught Twilight off her guard; something regretful, something final.
She didn’t have time to think about it right now and swung into organising those present.

“Rarity” she called over the crowd, “Can I have you levitate Sweetie Belle up the stairs please?”

“How many are there darling?” she called back, clearly worried about the strain on her magic.

“Two sets of two flights with a rest in between” came the reply, “OK with that?”

“Thank you darling” replied the fashionista, turning to fuss over her sister.

Twilight led her solemn procession back up the way she had just come from, pausing for a rest, just as she had promised Rarity. Once at the door, she deactivated the magical seal once more and led her party in, ushering them to the southeast and southwest corners where they would not impinge on the circle etched into the wooden floor. Everypony entering the room gasped as they took in the magical paraphernalia and the sinister looking markings, apparently burned into the floor, only Dark Magic failing to register any response.

“Well, shucks, Twilight” a familiar country voice drawled, “All the time I’ve spent in the castle, and Ah never knew this was here …”

“And I would be grateful to you, to all of you, that you don’t tell anypony about what you’ve seen here” Twilight replied, wearing a distinctly business-like expression, “But you would be hard pressed to find it by yourselves because the doorway at the bottom of the stairs generally appears as a solid wall. You are only here today because I have reversed that particular enchantment.”

Gasps and nods of heads rippled around the room.

“Right, there are offerings on the floor at different points” said Twilight, pointing to the artefacts at each of the four cardinal points, “Do not bump into them please.”

“What would happen if we did?” asked Scootaloo uncertainly.

“Then the spirits that are going to come and help with the spell will be upset and it might not work.”

“Girls, you will see at each of six points images of our Elements have been etched into the circle” directed Twilight, ”If you would please make your way to them, and you young mares, into the middle please.”

“Where would you like me, Princess.” asked the magician.

“Next to me, on my left.” she replied.

Once everypony was in their place, Twilight took the opportunity to address them all before she started: “Thank you for coming to help out today. I will need all of your help if this is going to succeed. You have all got to get into a meditative state, and if your mind starts to wander, just think of Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo and how much they need you. We cannot afford to attempt this half-heartedly; it is the last chance for these young mares. If it fails today, there is no second chance, and also we do not know if it goes wrong what the result will be for any of them. Any questions?”

Everypony was shocked into silence. Fluttershy looked like she might burst into tears, but she held it together for her friends.

“Nopony move now” directed Twilight, “I am going to summon the magic and will call upon you all in your turn to play your part. Good luck everypony. Now, let yourselves drift into a meditative state, and I will start.”

Twilight walked around the circle, stopping at key points and saying words that none could quite understand and leaving lighted joss sticks to enhance the mood of relaxation and assist with the meditation. When she arrived back at her cutie mark in the north of the circle, she chanted more arcane words and lit her horn, asking Dark Magic to join her and the Element Bearers to focus their energy into the centre.

A soft glow appeared in each of the young mares’ hearts and grew and size and intensity until they had melded together into one ball of brilliant white magical energy. The spell was working!

Twilight was on two planes concurrently; in her meditative state she could commune with Dark Magic whilst she could also see what was happening in the room around her.

“Dark Magic, the power is reaching its peak” she called to him across the meditative plane where they stood side by side, “Take over now, please.”

He dug his forehooves in and lowered his head slightly, focusing his stream of blue magical aura while he repeated his incantation over and over, building up the energy.

The more he chanted, the more the demand for magical power increased, the white ball around the three young mares swirling in all directions and still growing bigger, drawing more and more heavily on the seven ponies.
Twilight no longer dared take her focus away from the meditative plane but could still make out the multicoloured streams of energy flowing in relentlessly to feed the spell; everypony was doing as much as they could. She could feel the familiar probing around inside her head and throughout her body, but was ready for it this time and hung on grimly as she channelled increasing amounts of power in from the other Elements. Although the sensations were familiar to her from a week ago, they felt somehow less acute as she realised that not only was she drawing on the power from her friends, but also sharing her pain among them too.

As the minutes passed and the spell developed, she could feel the demands on her magic increase to a level far higher than she could ever have handled by herself, but freed from so much of the pain, she was able to direct the power she was gaining from the other Elements so much more effectively. But eventually, even she could feel that she was rapidly approaching her personal limits once again.

Still Dark Magic uttered his words as he pumped in his own magic. He was obviously doing as much as he could, so Twilight chose not to mention that she was running out of power and instead kept going alongside him, thinking about Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. She really was at her limit now and still pushing hard. Suddenly the stream of pink energy stuttered and failed. Twilight looked out and saw that Fluttershy had fallen over unconscious, utterly drained.

“I’ve got it” said Dark Magic calmly, ramping up his own power to compensate.

Next, the green energy started to falter too, but Rarity brought it back on stream, tears spilling from her eyes, thinking about her sister.

Then the blue energy stopped abruptly, and Twilight saw Pinkie collapse where she stood.

“Disengage” called Dark Magic, “Princess, you must disengage now!”

“But the spell” she pleaded, “It’s not complete!”

“Do not argue Princess!” he commanded.

Twilight was torn as to whether to trust him so close to achieving their goal, or watch as each of the Elements burned out in turn. She was past her limit and knew that all the other ponies were too, including Dark Magic.

“Stop girls!” she shouted, her mind made up.

Applejack and Rarity swayed unsteadily and looked on in shock to see that the spell was still going on and stared uncertainly at Twilight. Only Rainbow Dash continued pouring her red energy into the pulsating ball. Barely able to speak and sweating profusely, she refused to abandon her sister.

“Don’t stop!” she screamed hoarsely, “Scoots needs us! Why are you all backing out? Don’t you care? Keep going!”

Rainbow looked around at the sympathetic looks from three of her closest friends and the unconscious bodies of two more on the floor, “You must keep going!” she cried, tears of frustration running freely down her muzzle as she refused to yield to either her limits or the orders from Twilight who just looked on sadly and wept at the pitiful sight of her friend fighting a losing battle.

“No Rainbow” she said softly, “Let it go.”

The cyan pegasus looked imploringly into the eyes of her friends and saw tears streaming unashamedly down their faces. She knelt down slowly as her strength faded, keeping her red energy going until the futility of her action overwhelmed her and she collapsed sobbing loudly.

Meanwhile, Dark Magic maintained a stoic detachment to everything going on around him, Twilight staring aghast at how he was still managing to control so much raw magical power.

Suddenly there was a bright flash and everypony fell to the ground as if a bomb had been detonated in the center of the circle.

Once she had a chance to compose herself, Twilight rose and looked around. The room was no longer a mass of colors from the stained glass windows, but instead bathed in bright sunlight as all the windows had been blown out.

One by one, heads turned to the center of the circle to see the three young mares staggering to their hooves.

Applejack, Rainbow and Rarity all moved tentatively forward to comfort their younger sisters, each in their turn finding them able to stand by themselves. The spell had worked, they were all cured!

Twilight looked on with a deep sense of relief at three happy reunions and turned to Dark Magic, “That was incredible! I will never know how you …”

Her words were cut short as she suddenly noticed the pitiful state of the powerful magician next to her. He was covered in scars, deep cuts and bruises and fighting hard to breathe, his eyes staring up at her imploringly. She knelt down beside him, shocked by the realisation that he had taken not only the injuries Sweetie Belle had been carrying, but many more besides. 

She cradled his head on her lap and bent her ear close as he was clearly trying to speak.

“Tell me you forgive me” he gasped weakly as the last of his life left him and his head fell back into her lap.

Twilight held him tenderly and rocked gently back and forward, unable to hold back her tears. She couldn’t tell him she forgave him because she couldn’t speak. A flood of raw emotion washed over her like a tsunami and she bawled pitifully, holding him close. This dear, misunderstood magician could have walked away at any point, but had instead chosen to take all the hurt and the pain onto himself so that these young lives could be lived as they had been intended.

Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie had regained consciousness and were hugging the others happily when Twilight’s desperate cries cut through the atmosphere, killing all thoughts of celebration. Applejack turned to see what had happened and solemnly removed her hat as she moved to Twilight’s side. All of the ponies in the room followed her to the north of the circle staring at the horrifically tragic image of their friend cradling the dead body of the magical stranger whom they had all mistrusted at first, and one by one, come to respect and admire.

"What happened?” asked Apple Bloom.

Twilight couldn’t answer.

Applejack held her sister and replied, “That is the bravest stallion you will ever see. He just saved you, all of you, and paid a handsome price for his trouble.”

“I guess we was wrong about him, huh?” said Apple Bloom, turning away, unable to look any more upon the tragic sight.

“I believe we all misjudged him” agreed Rarity.

“That’s an act of loyalty even I’m not able to top” acknowledged Rainbow, respectfully.

The sun moved round, its bright warming rays casting the shape of the pointed window frame on the south of the room onto the floor, the point resting on Dark Magic’s heart.


***


It was a bright, but chilly morning when the six friends and the three young mares assembled in the centre of Ponyville. The town had turned out in full and all three of the other Princesses from the ruling quadrature had made the journey for the occasion.

The Mayor stood back and handed the platform over to Twilight who repeated the story of Dark Magic’s heroism that had spread quickly following the events in her castle. She had already had a new wing built to the library to accommodate his journals so that his family’s magic could be understood for the benefit of all ponykind, but today was for something much more personal.

“This fine stallion, a travelling magician who spent his life being misunderstood for the good he tried to do for everypony, finally gave his life for a cause he considered to be most worthy. While his sacrifice will never be forgotten by all those present on that day, his courage will live in our hearts as an inspiration to others, and it gives me great pleasure to unveil this statue in his honour!”

The cover was pulled off revealing a stone statue of Dark Magic looking wistfully into space with a book open in his forehoof. On the plinth below was an engraving “In memory of Dark Magic who died saving others”.

Scootaloo, the young mare who had first encountered Dark Magic and entered into that fateful pact with him advanced under the respectful silence of the crowd to lay a wreath of peach blossom at the foot of the statue. She spoke a few words that nopony heard, but when she returned to her place, everypony could see tear stains down her muzzle that hadn’t been there earlier.

Apple Bloom walked up next with a wreath of apple blossom and fought back her own tears, followed by Sweetie Belle with a wreath of almond blossom who made no attempt to suppress the tears she felt.

Next, under Twilight’s direction, Rainbow Dash took a wreath made up of red flowers representing the Element of Loyalty and laid it next Scootaloo’s. Each of the Element Bearers came forward in their turn with their own wreath, each of them feeling a connection with the mysterious stallion as they laid their own personal tribute.

They all reflected for a moment on how they had failed to live up to their own Element and how he had in his own way taught them a far greater lesson, and each of them returned with new tear stains, even if some made more of an effort to hide it than others.

Lastly, Twilight left the stage to lay her wreath of purple flowers representing the Element of Magic and stood back to look up onto the effigy of the magician’s face and said softly, “You are forgiven.”

THE END