//------------------------------// // The Heralding of Myths...(Part 2) // Story: Destiny's Calling // by Crimson_Moon //------------------------------// "How is this supposed to work again?" Geralt asked Twilight. Thanks to the books he was able to read, most of the glyphs she was carving into the ground of the main hall were easy enough to understand. However, the center one as well as a few outliers were beyond his grasp. "Well, the center glyph is the Catalyst-" Twilight pointed to it as she was explaining. "By standing here, my magic should be drained into it for storage." She sighed, stopping her carving for a second. "I'm taking the very essence of myself and ejecting it from my body..." She looked into those cold and unfeeling Wolven eyes, knowing he would understand what this means. "It'll bring me close to death." Or take you even further... Shaking her head, Twilight decided to change the subject. "What's Fluttershy doing?" "Training, more than likely. Never knows when to quit." Geralt opened his ears and listened for the distant sounds of sparring. "The crack of dawn's when she starts." "She...doesn't do anything else?" She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, hoping to see a change in demeanor at her prying. "No hobbies?" She concentrated back to her work, slightly dejected that there was a lack of emotion. "Apart from her project with that mushroom farm, she trains." Having nothing better to do than watch, the Witcher brought our his sword and began polishing and sharpening it. "She needs to get out more. Isn't healthy to keep a Witcher held up in a dusty castle." Another blast from her horn and the final glyph was done, earning a final satisfied nod from the mare. "Then why not take her to Ponyville more often?" Twilight asked innocently, now going over her notes to check for errors. Suddenly, almost ever so slightly, she saw a hesitation in Geralt's sharpening. It was gone in a flash, but it was there. "S-she..." "That's the last thing I want to do! My friends are traitors! They abandoned me without a second thought... "She refused to." He sighed, looking at his reflection staring back in the silver he was polishing. "It hurt too much to go back, I think." He understood that pain well, he had also held resentment and disdain for his mother that abandoned him in favor of whatever else took up her time. Caring for him, seemed to be lower on the list of priorities. "Nevertheless, she's out there training for the sake of it more than anything. It's a distraction, it helps her cope." Ringing the whetstone across his blade once more, Geralt gave it a quick test swing and stuck it back into it's sheath. "That reminds me, these spells and glyphs are strange for a simple transfer." His yellow eyes pierced Twilight's own purple ones, most certainly knowing there is more that she isn't letting on. "What exactly are you hiding?" His eyes squinted subtly to the average observer. Most would say it was a flinch of the muscle or a slight cramp. Twilight knew better. She was being judged. Not her outer facade, but something deeper. Something that his centuries of experience in Political observations would never be fooled by her attempts to be deceitful. The Witcher had seen nations rise and fall, Kings assassinated, wars won... Geralt had seen entire empires crumble within a fortnight. The Alicorn sighed, knowing the truth needed to be told now, else she would most definitely be dealt with harshly by the end of the man's blade. Or, at least, that was her fear. "They're..." Twilight choked on the words, too ashamed to admit what her ritual really did. "They're warding glyphs, and..." She sighed. Now or never. "And death spells. Ones to bind my soul to the catalyst." Hanging her head in defeat, she dare not look up. Her guilt wouldn't let her. After a moment of silence, the Witcher spoke up. "And Fluttershy? Does she know?" A string of tears down her cheek told him the truth. "...Hmm." Standing up, he inspected the glyphs, intent on seeing the designs closer. "You're not the first I've seen do this, you know." Reaching down, Geralt traced the lines of the closest glyph with his gloved hand in sympathy. "Most are- Were powerful mages that had enough of the world, politics, or the latent magic within themselves." He glanced over his shoulder. "Your case probably has one of those reasons behind it too. It's just how it goes." He got up and moved to the next glyph, repeating the pattern. "Please don't tell-" Twilight stepped forward, but was interrupted by a raising of his hand. "Fluttershy is far from any concern of mine nowadays." He chuckled dryly. "It may sound harsh coming from the one who taught her for over a decade how to fight and survive, but I mean it." The Witcher did. Her training was complete. She could come and go as she pleased, and take on her own contracts. This was simply just home base to her, and should remain that way. Witchers must always be on the move, there's always more coin to be had. Getting up, he approached the mare and rested his hand on her shoulder. "Coming from experience, whatever your reasons are, it won't make it right." A moment's hesitation, and then Twilight's hoof kept it there. "I-i can never atone unless I do this." Tears began welling up in her eyes, exhaustion making its way to the surface. "I'm the one that made her who she is. I started all this." "Hmm." All the Witcher did was grunt in reply. He was more contempt to listen this time around. "Ten years, Geralt." The tears from earlier finally started to trickle down her muzzle. "Ten years she spent away from everypony. From her friends..." "Don't try to convince me," he interrupted. "I already said I moved on from coddling her. Your reasons are your own. Now try to convince her of that." It was nearing the afternoon, and Fluttershy was still hard at work training. Several straw dummies surrounded her, most of them barely holding together from the ruthless flurry of attacks coming from the young Witcher. "Stupid Twilight!" A swift kick to the one behind her. "Stupid rituals!" The kick was followed by a backflip and quarter turn into the two next to it, the mock heads flying off with ease at her blades. "Stupid-" "Oh, what do we have here?" A melodic yet strange voice echoed, interrupting her training. "A lost soul, tainted by the blood of a Witcher?" Fluttershy halted her training in favor of guarding herself against the voice. "Who's there?" Her choker began to vibrate ominously. "It really doesn't matter." The voice chuckled. "I'm only here to right a wrong the bastard of magic inflicted in my kingdom." Slowly, the heat surrounding the mare began to rise, almost on an imperce level. "I was hoping to come across him first, but you'll do all the same." Eyes bulging wide, the mare felt the sudden surge of heat just before the meteor hit, dodging out of the way in the nick of time. It cackled as she avoided the attack, giving away the true madness behind the voice. "Oh my, but you are a quick one!" "Save your taunting! What do you want?!" Another blast came from nowhere, clipping the primary on Fluttershy's wing: a warning shot. "As I said, I'm here to clean house." A fiery shadow developed suddenly in front of the mare, it's silhouette giving no sign of who it might have been. That is, until the towering Alicorn emerged from the flames only minutes later. The young Witcher found herself shocked at who it was; that white coat was unmistakable, but that was the only similarity it shared with the Princess. Her mane and tail were ethereal flames of a bright orange, her regalia was gone, but most shocking of all were the facial features. There were no kindness in this mare's slitted eyes, and the manic smile it's fangs presented showed no kindness. "C-Celestia?" She uttered, before dodging another fireball. The mare laughed maniacally. "I'm afraid she's long gone. I am Daybreaker, and I'm here to stay!" It cackled, letting loose a barrage of molten lava and fireballs over and over, hoping to righteously burn away the stain that was the race of Witchers. Smoke and ash clouded her vision, leaving her to grin madly from the suspense. Waiting patiently for the smoke to clear, she gazed upon the scene- Geralt stood where the burning corpse of Fluttershy should be. "What?!" Daybreaker let loose every spell she knew, trying to snuff out the Witcher every way she knew. He expertly dodged the small attacks and shielded himself from the rest with his magic. "No, no you can't interfere with Divine Justice!" She snarled. Die, Witcher! Seeing his opening, Geralt blasted her with Aard to quench her magic flames and swung his sword with the experience of decades of practice. He clipped part of her wings and dealt a couple of blows to her coat before leaping back to recover and check on Fluttershy. "Geralt, what-" "No time!" He interrupted, blocking a few more shots before blasting another gust of air at his target. "Twilight's waiting in the castle. She needs your help!" "But-" Suddenly she was forcefully blasted back from a spot where molten lava now lay. "Go!" She needed no further hints and rushed to Kaer Blathan's main hall with haste. Moments earlier... "...Now try to convince her of that." Geralt spoke, leaving the mare to think of his words carefully. Routine was beaten into Witchers and Geralt was no exception to the rules. He allowed himself distractions every once in a while, that much was certain. However, when at Kaer Blathan, nothing but routine remained. Just as Vesemir became caretaker to the fortress that used to house his brothers of the Wolf, he adopted this place as his own run down castle that is in need of constant maintenance. The thought made him chuckle, almost picturing the old man seeing him now. Today's project was going to be the east wing, responsible for holding all the weaponry this fortress contained, or it was before the hallway leading to it collapsed from repeated barrages that were the forces of nature. He sighed. "Not gonna get it cleared in a fortnight, that much is certain..." Regretfully, the Witcher went to work removing the smaller debris out of the way and into a manageable pile. At the most, the old concrete could be used as future building materials, at the very least ammunition for the catapults and trebuchets littered about. Regardless, the work was important. If he could get access to the armory, perhaps there was s forge inside or maybe even an anvil. Something to provide him with the means to make less trips to Ponyville for a simple sharpening of the blade or refitting of his armor. Suddenly, he felt his medallion twitch. It was subtle beyond the constant buzzing it had near Twilight, but in his line of work, any small change in the environment was never a good one. He pretended not to notice, waiting for whatever magic that was shifting near him to make itself known. His medallion pulsed even quicker, signalling his time was up. Grasping the hilt of his sword and spinning around with the speed of a sparrow, Geralt was shocked to see a small yellow Wisp floating in front of him. "Are you sentient?" It didn't reply. It simply hovered there. "Speak!" He demanded, readying his magic for a binding rune. To his surprise, it began to change form, revealing a yellow outline of what looked like an amalgam of creatures. It had the body of a serpent, wings of both a bat and Pegasus, and possessed an eagle's talons and lion's paw for appendages. That was just what he could recognize, everything else was too hazy to make out in the silhouette. "I am, or was, the spirit of disharmony. Now all I am is just a little bit of chaos trying to save his friends. Though I don't recall Dear Fluttershy being quite as... Naked, or even bipedal for that matter!" It chuckled lightly. "Why seek out Fluttershy?!" The spirit did the equivalent of staring blankly at Geralt. "Are you serious? I just said I'm here to warn her, or is there too much of that Witcher Juice crammed in your brain to listen?" It tapped his noggin, only hearing an echo in reply. The Witcher swiped at him, but the Wisp was too quick. "Rude!" It scoffed. "I've dispatched smaller Wisps than you with just a simple casting of Yrden. Believe me, I'm being polite." The Wisp sighed. "I know. Look, something big, mean, and very much on fire, is coming this way. I should know, since it gutted me before speeding off this way!" It punched a hole in it's chest, only for it to reappear immediately after. It sighed. "Look, I know you have a strict "don't trust monsters" policy, but I'm one of the good guys! Or was...." "Prove it!" Geralt eyed the Wisp carefully. SNAP! With a rumble, the debris blocking the east wing began to glow, and moments later, sprang to life and marched to the pile the Witcher made to the side, clearing the passageway in one fell swoop. "There's my proof." Snapping out of his shock, Geralt nodded to the spirit. "I believe you. Now, who's coming?" Present Day... After the dust cleared, it was obvious to the two what had happened. The building collapsed, leaving them trapped inside the rubble. Fortunately, Twilight was preparing a barrier just before the action started, and was able to swiftly turn it into a makeshift cocoon in order to prevent it from collapsing on top of them. "W-who was that, Twilight?" Fluttershy asked her friend. For the first time in a very long time, she had felt genuine fear. It wasn't the Alicorn raging war on the other side inflicting it however, but the feeling itself... She felt fear. If she felt that, how many other repressed emotions were to follow from her old self? "I-it can't be... She was just a dream! She wasn't real!" "Twilight... Who?!" She asked,ever more frantic. The Alicorn gulped. "Daybreaker." She lit her horn and began to dig a tunnel out of the rubble and towards the Mess Hall. It was the next safe space in the castle, and if they could get there, then maybe- "Snap out of it, Twilight!" She mumbled to herself. Calming down, she continued with her explanation while digging. "Do you remember a long time ago when Starlight was called to fix a friendship problem between the princesses?" "Vaguely... To be honest, I don't recall many adventures we had, only glimpses. Geralt said it was the magic of the Trials." "You don't sound so sure..." Fluttershy shook her head. "I wanted to forget. Being left alone here for a decade... Well, it hurt. Just give me a second to think." Twilight remained silent for a long while after that, only focusing on digging their way to safety. A few moments later, and she continued, regardless if her friend remembered or not. "When she went to help, something happened. The two princesses were stuck in a nightmare of her own making. In it were Nightmare Moon and... Daybreaker. She was like Celestia, but the exact opposite of everything she tried to be for Equestria." She stopped digging for a moment to turn and face Fluttershy. "She was pompous, selfish, and vain. Daybreaker was her Dark thoughts given form, just like Nightmare Moon was for Luna." "I-I'm starting to remember now. Starlight told us Celestia banished the nightmare away, saying she'd never stoop so low to transform into Daybreaker." "Correct. Which begs the question:" the Alicorn turned around and got back to work on the tunnel. "What changed?" Fluttershy finished. It made sense as to who was attacking, now they needed the why. He thinking was cut short however, by the sounds of howling approaching from behind. "Did you hear that?" She clutched her choker, feeling for any hint of magic. Unfortunately Twilight's digging was interfering with it too much to get a proper reading. "It's the rubble shifting." The howling echoed again, sending shivers even down Twilight's spine. "I think... Be on guard." The howling died down for a while after that, a welcome relief for both mares. That is, until it sounded even louder a few minutes later. Not even thinking twice, Fluttershy and Twilight stopped, and readied themselves for combat. To their surprise, and equal dismay, they could see the barest hints of light at the tunnel behind them. Fluttershy unsheathed her claws, while Twilight began to ready defensive spells. The howling increased as the faint light came closer and closer to the two. Suddenly, Fluttershy recognized the howling. "Those sound like Timberwolves! But they sound..." Her eyes widening, she realized too late what that meant. "Twilight, keep digging!" Realizing what was happening too, the mare turned around and poured all her magic into blasting a hole through the rubble as quick as she could. Eventually, whatever was making those howling sounds caught up. Fluttershy was right in assuming they sounded like Timberwolves, except these ones carried a vague resemblance to the ones found in the woods. Instead of wooden limbs full of life, theirs were charred black and glowed with ash and ember. Their eyes were not the usual emerald green either, instead sporting a very fitting, albeit menacing red to complete the look. That was nothing to say of the fangs: jagged pieces of wood, glowing with a soft orange occupied the space in their mouths. They were quickly advancing by the dozen, leaving little room between each other; it was like a horde of parasprites- powerful and strong in their numbers. Fluttershy did her best holding them off while Twilight dug her tunnel, but it was quickly becoming too much. "Anytime, Twilight!" She exclaimed, dispatching a few more. "Almost...there..." The Alicorn breathed out. Exerting massive magic in their haste to escape was slowly showing its toll on the mare. Suddenly, the tunnel gave way to a breach of light. They were free! However, the strain was too much and Twilight collapsed into the room below. "Twilight!" Fluttershy quickly pushed back the hordes of wolves with Aard and rushed to her friend's aid. "Come on, get up!" She held the mare's head, tears beginning to form. "I-I need you!" The howls came again, causing her ears to splay back in apparent fear. "Y-you can't die! I still haven't been able to..." The howls came closer, shaking her out of her panic. Setting Twilight back down, the Witcher turned and faced the incoming threat, blades unsheathed and ready to taste blood. "No. I refuse!" She stomped her hoof, casting Quen around the unconscious mare to protect her from further harm. Digging her metal claws deep, she bared her teeth, bloody and feral; she truly was ready to die in that moment. Something else decided to intervene fortunately, for suddenly, her vision became blurry. "W-what is..." She stared down at her clawed hooves with an increasingly fading consciousness that could only be caused by one thing. Eyes snapping open, Fluttershy turned back around to where Twilight was standing. "Y-you're not gonna stop me!" Through sheer willpower, the mare took a shaky step towards the mysterious figure cloaked in darkness currently hovering above her unconscious friend. She didn't even hear it come in... "I don't care what you are-" she began to say, but her limbs failed her; she collapsed onto the ground, eyelids slowly closing. "S-stay away...from-" Shh... Sleep. This is a battle only Old Magic can win...