Equestria Girls: Love Is Magic

by onekface


A Growing Magic

Chapter 63: Growing Magic

(Camp Everfree)

“Thanks again for giving us a lift, Vice-Principal Luna.” Sunset said while on the passenger seat. It felt rather strange to be riding with your school VP. But at least she knew that she wasn’t in trouble.

The star haired lady nodded back. “It’s my pleasure, Sunset. I told you I would help out in your adventures. I’m just glad that no one was hurt when the earthquake hit. I never expected the whole city to be hit that hard.”

“Rather surprising considering that Canterlot isn’t near any fault lines.” Twilight stated from the back.

The quake took everyone by surprise. They should’ve known that it was magic related when the ground vibrated earlier this morning. But sadly they took it for granted which resulted in the mess.

“I just don’t understand why the golem would be out here. I thought we trapped it inside the cave after our little expedition.”

“Me too.” Twilight nodded in agreement. “It must’ve somehow got out. And now it’s at Camp Everfree doing who knows what?”

“I wish we could’ve brought the others. If that monster does turn violent, we might need backup.” But sadly time wasn’t on their side. The whole school was flipped when the quake hit. Applejack and Pinkie Pie volunteered to stay behind and help fix the place out while Rarity joined up with the relief team. School was pretty much canceled that afternoon. “Speaking of which. Any word from Fluttershy?”

“She said that she’s busy.” Twilight recalled the last text message. “She’s probably helping out at the animal shelter around the back. You know how she is. We’ll have to deal with this ourselves.”

“Don’t do anything too dangerous.” Luna warned them. “You two might have magical powers and all. But you’re still students and thus, my responsibility. If anything happens to you it’ll be my head on the line. Not to mention the parent-teacher conference that I have to deal with afterward. So if it gets too hairy, get back to me immediately. Understood?”

“Don’t worry Vice Principal Luna.” Sunset reassured her. “We’ve done these kinds of things plenty of times. We’ll be careful. Promise.”

They would arrive at the entrance of Camp Everfree a few minutes later, which were strangely packed with crows and ravens for some strange reason. To their surprise, Gloriosa was there pacing back and forth. A rough guess would say that she was waiting for them.

“Oh thank goodness you’re here.” The woman looked giddy. If she were in a more panicked state, she’d be hugging them. “I was beginning to think I had to cancel the camp. The earthquake really got people shaking… both literally and metaphorically.”

“Is everyone ok?” Twilight inquired looking over the camp which seemed to be in a bit of a mess.

“Just a little damage. Nothing I can’t handle. But the giant monster thing? That’s something else.”

“Where is it?”

“At the rock quarry.” She stammered. “You know the place. Just follow the new path we set up and it’ll lead you right to it. I have the place closed off to the campers for now, but we’ll be having an activity there in tonight. So if you guys could get rid of that thing, that’ll be a great help. I’d follow you there but I don’t exactly have the best track record when it comes to magic. You know? With the whole Gaia Everfree thing? And I tried to trap you all here for all eternity? Aheh.” She let out a weak laugh.

“Yeah~… right.” Sunset shrugged. “We’ll uh… do our best.”

“Is Timber around?”

“He’s back home.” Gloriosa answered. “The whole quake messed up the place but he’s working on it. But right now the faster you get rid of that… thing, the better it’ll be for all of us.”

Luna on the other hand decided to stay back. “I’ll stay here with Gloriosa and watch over the camp. I’m not much use in a magic incident. But remember what I told you: If it gets too dangerous, get back here immediately. Don’t do anything reckless.”

“You got it.”

xxxxxxxxxx

Camp Everfree.

Sunset found it rather surprising that it’s been almost two years since they last came here. So many memories in this place. While not all of them were pleasant, she cherished it all the same. After all, it was the place where their magic originated and where their geodes came from. If it wasn’t for this place, they wouldn’t have gotten their amazing yet dangerous powers to begin with.

*Caww! Caww!*

“Is it just me, or does Vice Principal Luna sounding more like a mother hen?” Twilight stated trying to lighten the mood.

“She’s just worried. Remember what happened when we camped here last time?” How can they possibly forget? “But I gotta say. Those improvements that Gloriosa mentioned was far more impressive than I thought. Though I could without these crows here.” She gestured to the black feathered creatures that seemed to trail them from the camp. “Those cabins looked pretty cozy. I wonder how it’d feel to stay in one of them.”

Twilight shrugged. “Eh… it’s not that impressive on the inside. Trust me. I’ve seen it. The one I stayed in was way better.”

Sunset’s eyes widened as a grin formed on her face. “Oh right. Your date with Timber. I completely forgot about that. How was it? You should tell me everything.”

“Eh… it was… ok… I suppose.”

“Ok?” Sunset scoffed. “Twilight. He took you for a romantic week in a camp with just the two of you. You had the whole place to yourselves, with no humans for miles, gazing at the Winter Solstice, and you call that ok?”

The girl shrugged. “What can I say? It was… ok.”

Unbelievable. Either Twilight has a very high standard when it came to dates or something else was up. If a certain someone took her on a week-long date like that, she’d be all for’em.

Aheh…

A certain someone.

“At least give me some details.”

“Why is my love life suddenly on the table?”

“I dunno.” Sunset admitted. “I guess to pass the time? We’re about to face the monster that almost crushed us. I could use something to take my mind off it for the moment.”

The nerd gave her a pointed look but didn’t seem to complain. A rough guess would say she was nervous as well. The last time they encountered this golem, their magic literally had no effect on it. And now it was here.

“Well… I guess it was sorta romantic.” She began. “The cabin we used was pretty cozy. It had a giant fireplace, a couch, and the ambience was absolutely perfect. We skated at the lake, took long walks at the woods, he even took me canoeing down the stream. We snuggled up close at the cabin… and he even took me to the rock quarry. He had the whole place renovated since our last dance.”

Sunset was sensing a ‘But’ there.

“But…?”

“But… what?”

“You did all of that together and yet you’re not happy about it?”

“Of course I am. I’m totally happy. It was really… sweet.”

“But…?”

Frustration boiled on her face. “There’s no but!”

Sunset quickly raised her hand up in defense. “Ok ok. No need to be angry. I was just… curious. That’s all. It’s not like anyone else in the group has any love story to spill.”

The cosmic universe sighed at her.

“What about Pinkie Pie?” Twilight reminded. “Didn’t she have that wealthy clientele that her parents have been her up with?”

“Yeah. But she’s not spilling. Normally that girl would share just about everything about her. Even stuff that I didn’t want to know. But right now she’s keeping a tight lid on the whole dating thing.” She shrugged. “All we know that he’s the son of someone very rich.”

“Know of any rich people out there?”

“Just the one.” They giggled as the blue haired boy came to mind. It sounded like a farfetched joke. Little did they know how on-the-nail they were. “But I seriously doubt it. Heck he might not even be from our school.”

“Must be someone from Uptown.”

Sunset agreed on that. That’s pretty much the closest thing to High Rise residence area in this city. “She did seem pretty embarrassed about the whole thing.”

“Pinkie Pie? Embarrassed?” Twilight couldn’t help but laugh.

“I know, right? What could possibly be so embarrassing that even Pinkie wouldn’t admit to?”

“Whoever it is, we should definitely grill her on it.” Twilight suggested with a snicker. “As her closest friends, it’s only right.”

“Lure her with the usual treat at the Sweet Shoppe?”

“Most definitely.” Their laugh however was suddenly cut short when they finally came upon the entrance of the rock quarry. It looked just about the same as any rock quarry they came across, with the exception of the giant golem standing beside the mouth entrance. “There it is.”

There was no mistaking it. That was definitely the same golem they encountered in the caves back then. It was hard to forget such a creature that tried to turn you into mush. Not to mention the looping trap they were caught in.

“What’s it doing?” Sunset squinted as they hid behind the snowy bushes.

“Not sure. It just seems to be… standing there.”

It sure was. The giant stony monster was just standing idle. Its massive body remained completely motionless with the exception of its large red eye that scanned all objects in front of it. Either it was waiting for something to happen or it was just resting.

Do animatronic monsters need rest?

Seeing the beast up close, Sunset began to think that this little rush might’ve been a bad idea. The last time they went against this monster, they bailed. There was nothing they could do against it. Not even magic seems to have any effect. If Applejack were here, she could probably smash the creature to pebbles. Heck, even Pinkie with her explosive cupcakes would’ve made a bigger dent than anything they could throw at it.

“So what’s the plan?” Twilight whispered.

“Me? Why are you asking me? I thought you had a plan.”

“You think I’d have a plan against something like that?”

“You made the plan when we went against Hoity Toity!”

“Yeah. But that took me days. I barely have ten minutes to come up with something.”

Figures. Ugh… maybe they should’ve come up with a strategy when they were driving here.

“Well it can’t stay here.” She said quickly. “We need to get that thing away from the camp. You grab its attention and I’ll hit it from behind.”

“Why am I the diversion!?”

“Because you can throw things at it. Magic doesn’t work on it, remember?” Twilight gave a grunt but accepted the plan because of logic.

With a single motion the two girls Ponied-up and hastily went with Plan-A.

Sunset took position a few dozen steps away from the golem. It didn’t seem to notice her yet, which was a good thing. The creature looked even far more intimidating up close. It was about three… maybe even four times taller than her, and three times bigger too. Not to mention made out of rocks. One blow from its massive arms would leave a crater half the size of a football field.

She swallowed down her fear and clutched her geode, holding the Alicorn Amulet in the other hand ready to deliver a serious blow to the monster when the opportunity arose.

And not a moment too soon either because Twilight was making her move. With a rush of adrenaline she stormed out of her hiding place and shouted.

“Hey big guy! Remember me?” She paused, attempting the world’s silliest provocation ever. “W… well… come get me!”

The golem’s eye directed at her. But it still remained motionless.

“Hey!” She continued, clapping her hands and doing what looked like a chicken dance. “Over here! Hello!?”

And still the creature remained still. Could it not hear her or something?

Irritated, Twilight decided to take her taunts to another level. With a wave of her hand, a large fallen tree rose from the ground, hovering above her. And with a motion, it flung towards the golem, smacking it right dead on the chest.

Sunset braced herself, waiting for the monster to respond. She prepared for a roar, or maybe even a stampede. She waited and waited for something to happen…

… but it didn’t.

She wasn’t sure whether to feel glad or disappointed. If anyone threw a log at her, she’d be right down ticked. But this golem seemed to have the patience of a saint.

Feeling a bit confused, Twilight decided to cautiously approach the beast. But not before tossing a bunch of rocks at it for good measure. And like before, the golem remained still and unmoving. It looked more like it was part of the scenery now.

“Huh… that’s weird.” Twilight said, getting a little closer to the one-eyed monster. “I… don’t think it’s moving.”

Sunset saw no danger and decided to come out and take a look herself. The golem remained still as the rock it was made from. They sensed no hostility from it… or anything for that matter. Only the red eye at the head seemed to be moving.

“Do you think it’s broken?”

“Beats me.” Twilight shrugged. “I don’t know anything about how these things work. For all I know, it could just be out of batteries.”

“Do… they run on batteries?”

“More so than you think.” A third voice interjected causing the two to yelp.

“Wha? Neighsay?”

(CHS)

“Ow…!” Flash resisted the urge to flinch as he sat there by the nurse’s office. A rather mean gash cut through the side of his head, leaving behind a nasty scar which thankfully can be easily hidden under his hair.

“Easy now. Almost done” Fluttershy ordered as she added the final touch to his injury, putting a cute band-aid over the wound. “There. All better now.”

“Thanks.” He let out a chuckle. Normally when someone suffers an injury like this they’d be all grunts and groan. But having a cute girl like Fluttershy easily made the pain go bye-bye. “The next time the ceiling comes down on me, I’ll hide under a table.”

“I’d say that you should duck and dodge. But considering that you saved me from a falling debris, I’ll make an exception.” She let out an adorable laugh which mysteriously lightened the mood in the nurse’s office. “You really shouldn’t be running to danger like that.”

“Hey, you know full well that’s not my style.” Flash brushed his hair and clicked his tongue coolly. “It’d hurt my reputation if I let a cute girl like you get hurt on my watch. Besides, I think I’m growing a collection.” He gestured to his other injuries which he wore proudly like a badge. “At this rate I might just get myself the whole set.”

“That’s not exactly a good thing.”

“Come on. It’s every guy’s dream to earn himself some battle scars to show off.” He chuckled. “Maybe in a few years, I’ll show this off to my friends and tell them how heroic I am.”

“I prefer if you didn’t have any more injuries because of us.”

“Ha! You’re starting to sound like Sunset.” The two of them turned over to the adjacent room where they could hear someone complaining about aches. Normally it would be the nurse who treats the patient who visits the office, but unfortunately she had her hands full with a dozen other students who suffered a few bumps and bruises from the earthquake. They can hear a few patients going ‘Ow’ and ‘Oh’ over by the next room. “That whole thing must’ve been pretty bad. You think it could be magic related?”

“I hope not.” She shivered. “Twilight seems to think so. She and Sunset set off a few hours ago to investigate.” He shouldn’t be surprised anymore. Those two would dive head into danger without a second thought if it involved magic. “I hope it’s nothing too serious.”

“You and me both.”

They both let out a soft chuckle which lightened the depressing mood in the other room.

“So…” Fluttershy started, her eyes wandering to the boy’s bandaged hand. “Are we gonna talk about… that?”

He brought his arm up to his face, breathing deeply. Flash avoided the subject for a while seeing as the whole school was up in chaos for the last hour. But it never really left his mind.

There was no doubt about it.

What happened back in the band room couldn’t have been a trick of the light, or an illusion. It was magic. He was absolutely 100% certain. And he was the source – or at least he hoped so. The feeling in his hand was unmistakable.

With some reluctance, Flash undid the bandages, letting it fall on the floor like he was unwrapping a mummy.

“Whoa…” And to their amazement, the scar that was seared onto his skin began to glow upon its revelation. “That’s…”

“It’s magic.” Fluttershy finished with a gasp, her hand clasping over her geode which reacted at the sight of the glow. “That’s definitely magic. But how is that possible?”

“Not sure. But I’m definitely not complaining.” A smile crept up his lips as he felt the pulse inside grow stronger. There was a certain energy running through his veins. The kind of power he’s always desired. “Maybe some of that Equestrian Magic that’s been going around the city finally came to me.”

“I don’t think that’s how it works.”

“Well… what other explanation is there?” He laughed. “But this is amazing. Maybe now I can finally do the same things you do.” He jumped off the chair, admiring his new mark. “What kind of powers do you think I’ll get? Do you think I’ll be super strong like Applejack? Maybe have super speed like Rainbow Dash! Oh! Explosive pancakes? Not exactly stellar but I’ll take it.”

“Now slow down.”

“Oh! Maybe I can Pony-Up like you girls! I’ll get those ears, tails and even wings!”

“Flash. Let’s…”

“We’ll be fighting off shadow monsters together. I might even be able to fly!”

“Flash Sentry!” Fluttershy yelled out making him flinch back to reality. “Ahem. Maybe you shouldn’t go around running with that kind of power just yet.”

“Wha? Why not? This could be my chance! I finally got a shot at magic.”

“Yes that’s true. But magic isn’t something you should underestimate. It can be extremely dangerous.”

The boy puffed his cheeks. “Oh come on. It can’t be that bad. I mean… I saved you, didn’t I?”

“Yes. But that was one time.” She reminded. “We still don’t know what kind of powers you have. If you’re not careful, you might end up hurting others.” That was… sort of… logical… coming from Fluttershy.

Magic hasn’t exactly been beneficial to the school since its arrival all those years ago. And people who first experience them tend to become very power hungry. Sunset included.

Gloriosa tried to save her camp using magic, but in the end she got too caught up with the power that she nearly tried to imprison the campers into permanent residents. There were others that followed too.

Vignette Valencia, Juniper Montage, heck the members of the Black Stone Order were vibrant examples of what power can do to your brain.

And here he was, about to do the same. He was already thinking of what he could do and not the consequences that may come with his actions. If he ended up hurting someone by accident or turn into some monster that tries to take over the world, he wouldn’t be able to live with himself. The others fell for that craze many times before. It’d be foolish to follow in their footsteps and learned nothing.

He needed to be the bigger guy here. The responsible one. Like that guy in the comic once said: With great powers come great accountability…

… or something along those lines.

Flash really wanted to use magic. Seeing how he flung that ceiling tile to the wall felt absolutely incredible. It was as if he was finally given a chance to shine. A chance to prove to everyone that he could be just as amazing as the Rainbooms.

But… without really knowing what he could do… he may just be a danger to others and himself.

And so with a heavy and reluctant heart, he put his hand down and nodded. “You’re…… you’re right Fluttershy. Magic isn’t something I should flaunt around. I should probably wait and have a real expert look into. I was just so excited that I got all magic-frenzy.”

“I’m glad you see it that way.” Fluttershy gave an approving gesture before bringing out another roll of bandages to cover the magical glow. “We’ll have Twilight look at it tomorrow. And who knows? You might have the power to talk to animals.”

“If that’s the case, then I know exactly who to come to for help.” Flash let out another awkward laugh as he felt her fingers wrap around his hand. The girl seemed used to providing first-aid to people.

“There. All done.”

“You’re really good at this.”

“I’ve had a lot of practice.” She chuckled cutely like always. “You’d be surprised how many times Angel hurts himself around here. Treating booboos and bumps are my specialty. But I also have a technique to make the pain go away.”

“Oh? Is it magic?”

He wasn’t wrong. Though it was a different kind of magic entirely.

Without any kind of warning, Fluttershy got up to his face and planted her lips on his forehead taking him by complete surprise.

“That’s for saving me.” She added bashfully.

“Oh…” He replied, stunned. “You’re uh…… you’re welcome.”

They stayed there, awkwardly moving about. And it would’ve lasted for hours had it not been rudely interrupted by an attentive knock on the door.

“Alright you love birds. Enough chatting.” Nurse Redheart remarked, flashing a coy smirk like she had just watched an appeasing movie. “If you’re all patched up, you can leave now. I got another student here who could use the room.”

The two made a hasty retreat out the nurse’s office, unaware that Tree Hugger was there, witnessing the whole event.

(Camp Everfree)

Sunset tensed as the man showed himself, a frown marring his pale face. His arrival couldn’t be a coincidence, not after this golem. “What are you doing here!?”

“Calm yourself.” He responded raising one hand up. “Don’t go jumping at shadows now.”

“Are you the one behind this?”

“No.” He answered so plainly. “I have nothing to do with the quakes or the Guardian. As a matter of fact. Seeing how you two responded so quickly, I’m more inclined to think that you were the ones responsible for the chaos. And as I’ve said before: Our Order is dedicated to the study of magic for the betterment of mankind. Destruction and disturbances does none of that.”

“Could’ve fooled me.”

“Sunset wait.” To her surprise it was Twilight who stopped her. “Let’s hear him out before jumping to conclusions. We don’t know what really happened here.”

True. But the guy’s timing was just too… convenient. You can’t help but think that he was somehow responsible.

“Fine.”

Neighsay nodded his head in Twilight direction giving out an unvoiced thanks. “It seems that there’s at least one person in your group who has a leveled head.” He then pranced towards the golem, staring back at its red eye before placing a palm dangerously close to the beast. “Remarkable. Still working after all the centuries.”

“You’ve seen these before?” Twilight inquired.

“A few times.” He admitted. “We call them Guardians. Ancient protectors of the Yaztec Empire during their golden age. Made entirely from quarried stone and coated with magic-repelling obsidian. They often stand guard over ancient ruins and important locations. The Order of the Black Stone encountered them many times in our expeditions. They are physically resilient and impervious to magic. The only saving grace is that most of them are quite slow, which makes them easy to avoid.”

“If they’re immune to magic. How do you stop them?”

“High grade explosives are often the solution to these things. But the places they protect are often of historical value so we tend to dig a giant hole and lure them towards it. If none of that is viable then we simply lead them on a wild chase until their energy dies down.”

“Energy?”

“They’re animatronics.” Neighsay explained, knocking on the knee piece of the golem. “They’re programed to defend areas from intruders – or at the very least scare them away. But protectors as powerful as these require a substantial amount of magical energy to move. They lose their bodily functions before they shut down completely. From what we gathered, the shamans of the old empire regularly supply them whenever possible. Without the usual maintenance, they crumble. I’d say this one is on its last leg.”

So it really did run on batteries… so to speak. They were no different than your remote-controlled cars or your TV remote. That’s good to know. It’d definitely save us time should they encounter another monster of its size.

“But why did it come all the way here?” Twilight again inquired, no longer afraid of the golem.

“It’s all part of their programming.” He answered. “We encountered a few of these before. And we discovered that they were built to be self-sufficient – or at least they try to. When a Guardian is running short on magical energy, it seeks out the closest source of magic to replenish itself. It must’ve sensed some lingering raw magic around here but ran out of juice before it could reach it.”

The crystal vein! The source of their magic geodes!

Sunset shot a glance over to Twilight who immediately knew what it was after. The cave system the golem came from was no more than a 30 minute walk from here.

“Judging by your expressions, I guess you two know something.” They immediately froze when the Guidance Counselor gave them a pointed look.

“We might.” Sunset folded her arms together in return. They weren’t gonna give him any more information than he needed to know.

The pale man noted her words and didn’t seem all that interested in challenging her. Instead he returned his attention back to the golem which they noticed that its red eye was dimming. “It seems like the Guardian’s time has run out. I’d give it a few more minutes before it fades away completely. By then it will be no different than a lifeless statue.”

“Will it be of any danger?” Twilight asked.

“Not unless someone decides to feed it magic. And even then I wouldn’t know how to reactivate it.” He scoffed. “Seeing as this is your responsibility, I will leave this matter to you. Should you require assistance – please. Don’t hesitate to ask.” With a snap of his fingers, the ravens that have been trailing them for the last few minutes flocked to his side. And in a blink of an eye, he vanished.

If Sunset had an opinion to speak of, she’d say that it was a neat trick. Though she wouldn’t let him know that.

“Wow… now that… was an exit.” Twilight crooned earning herself a look from her friend. “What? You gotta admit, that was a pretty cool stunt. You think he’d teach me that if I asked?”

“Enough. Let’s get back to it.” She pressed the golem by the knee. “The Order might’ve fought this thing a dozen times over, but that still doesn’t explain what caused the earthquake. This thing might be a giant. But if it was running on fumes and walking down the mountain path, it wouldn’t make such a ruckus.”

Twilight seemed to agree on that logic. If an apple should fall from a tree, would people half way across the world hear it? The Guardian was big. Like… really REALLY big. About the size of her new house and then some. Not even it would make that much of an impact.

“I can probably convert my equipment back at my place to detect seismic activity. If anything we should probably look at the place where our geodes came from. That’ll be a good point of reference.”

“Sounds like a plan. The next question is: What do we do with big, stony guy? We can’t exactly just let it stay here. The campers will freak out and I kind of promised Gloriosa we’d get rid of it.”

Twilight puckered her lips in thought. She cast a glance over the now lifeless golem and then the rock quarry scattered decorations. If this was a cartoon, a light bulb would’ve appeared.

“I have an idea.”