“...I should have known…” Adagio mumbled as she looked up into the sky, gritting her teeth. Her loss of stamina from all of the boxes she moved prevented her from fighting back right away. “The name should’ve given it away. But how did a wendigo from Equestria get here?!”
Blueblood casually shut the book. “I’ve picked up a thing or two. Now...give yourself up. Or your friend gets it.” He tightened his grip around Octavia’s neck, causing the girl to cry out.
“Ack! Unhand me you fool!” she screamed, “Don’t listen to him, ‘Dagio!”
SLAP!
“Silence,” Blueblood ordered as he delivered a backhand across the side of her face.
Adagio instinctively tried to leap at him, “You animal!” But her strained body prevented her from accomplishing anything. She ended up stumbling and kneeling down on one of her knees. “Grrh!”
FWOOSH!
Goetia lowered the temperature of the air, causing Octavia and Adagio’s body to shiver uncontrollably. “Relinquish your magic to me while you still have some honor left within you,” her voice boomed with a loud reverb above the alley, “And I may just spare your lives.”
With an intense grimace, Adagio gazed up at the wendigo and snarled. “A queen of the ocean submits to no one.’
Meanwhile…
Twilight had been busy writing notes at her desk with the window to her bedroom open. But she dropped her pen as soon as she was jolted by a sudden waft of unreasonably cold air.
“Brrrr…what the…” she muttered as she looked outside. “That’s odd. It’s not supposed to be this cold right now. The forecast said it would be chilly--not freezing.” But as soon as she laid eyes on the source of the sudden chill, her eyes practically shrunk into her head. “WHAT--?!”
There was no time to waste. Twilight immediately grabbed her running shoes, a hoodie, her tablet, and her geode. “I’m heading out for a walk, mom!”
It was more like a run. The purple nerd sprinted towards the marketplace downtown which eventually became a state of gliding along the ground as she utilized her magic to make herself move faster without tiring her legs out. “I have to hurry. That has to be Equestrian magic but there’s no telling what exactly it could be.” She took a look at her phone and sent out a text to her friends, letting them know where they could find the monster.
“Here’s hoping I’ll have some backup. But for now, I have to do what I can.”
With that, Twilight continued rushing towards the scene, not too far away at this point…
In the alley behind the music store…
Goetia scoffed at the siren’s bravado as the equine form of the wendigo changed to that of a centaur similar to Tirek--albeit female. “Oh that’s rich. Look at you with that feeble human skinsuit of yours! You’re just as weak as they are. The strong conquer and take over what’s laid out for them.” She folded her arms with a haughty smirk on her face. “The sooner you accept that you’re no longer as strong as you think you are, the better off you’ll be. I could grant you and your sisters all the power in the world...then you’ll finally be able to take it over as you originally intended when you first arrived! Wouldn’t you prefer that to being a weak, fleshy human?”
The air had become so cold that Adagio started to cough and dry heave against the frost. Having exhausted herself earlier, her body was slowly turning numb with parts of her face turning blue. “I…” She clutched her chest as she forced herself to stand on both of her legs--her knees shaking like unstable support beams.
Behind her, Blueblood remained unaffected since this was the work of his familiar. But Octavia had passed out completely. Her chest could be seen slowly raising and lowering with each breath she took, so she wasn’t completely out of it yet. Even so, Adagio was short on time.
Time she took full advantage of.
Since she was in no condition to fight, all she could do was try and speak out to the wendigo.
“...These humans...this world...it’s one of the only places where mortals have had free will,” the siren said in between a cough as the world around her started to become fuzzy. “...And I have only recently begun to comprehend how important such will actually is. My sisters and I love it here. But you? You wouldn’t understand because you’re under his control…”
Goetia stared down at the pitiful siren and shook her head. “Wrong answer. Everyone shall follow his will. That’s the only way to achieve true happiness!”
“...Then kill me,” Adagio challenged her with her arms spread wide, “So long as I draw breath. I won’t allow you to do as you please.”
“Do it,” Blueblood ordered, “With her out of the way, all we’ll have to worry about is her two, uch weaker, and far less competent sisters.”
“Kill her huh?” the wendigo-centaur questioned, “Hmph...I would’ve preferred to keep her alive as a toy. But if you insist…”
But that little moment of hesitation cost her.
“I don’t think so!” a voice shouted from above them.
“What the--?!” Blueblood looked into the sky, “Who said that?!”
BLAM!
“GAH!” A flash of purple light flew towards the wendigo and struck her in the back of the head. “Who dares--?!”
“I dare,” Twilight called out while floating in the air. Purple flames of magic surrounded both of her hands. “I don’t know who you are or where you came from, but you’re going to let her go right now before I make you.”
“...” Once his eyes locked on Twilight, Blueblood saw this as the perfect opportunity to bow out of the situation. Call it cowardly--but he wasn’t about to risk his neck against quite possibly the second-strongest magic user after Sunset. That was the whole reason he needed Adagio’s magic after all. “Take her down with all you have, Goetia.” He exchanged a mental message with her and slipped back into the shop before Twilight could see him.
“As you wish, master,” Goetia responded, and turned her attention to the flying mage of a girl. “This is none of your concern. Leave now.”
“This is my home,” Twilight asserted, “You made it my concern by setting foot here.” She held out one of her hands, causing cyan-colored runes to flash from it. “And now, I’m going to send you back where you came from.”
“Foolish girl…” the centaur-spirit responded quietly, then roared with all of her might, causing a mighty snowstorm, “We can’t go back where we came from!!”
Meanwhile, across the street…
Many people started to notice the severe drop in temperature and started to leave the marketplace as soon as possible. The last thing they wanted was for their cars to stall in the middle of the city.
In particular, a certain young woman with white skin and purple hair who quickly put on a regal fur coat to keep warm as she left a store with various bags in her hands. “Oh dear...was the weather always so chilly? I could’ve sworn it was twenty degrees warmer before I went in...and I wonder what that strange text from Twilight was on about...”
That’s when she laid eyes on a familiar face from the school: One of the new teachers walking out to his own vehicle that was near hers. Seeing as she didn’t actually take his class, she figured it would only be appropriate to be polite. “Always make a good first impression. The poor man doesn’t even have a coat! This will not do.”
As Aidon shivered from the sudden weather change as he placed his groceries in the back of his suv. “Celestia Almighty--what’s with the temp? The forecast didn’t say anything about a storm…”
His thoughts were interrupted by her voice. “Hello good, sir. My name is Rarity--and I couldn’t help but notice that you’re without a coat.” She looked into one of her bags, “I was going to use this for inspiration, but you look like you need it more than I do,” she took out the brown pilot’s jacket she had just purchased and offered it to him.
“...To turn something down like this would just be rude.” Aidon accepted her offer, and immediately put it on. “...Thank you, miss. Wait a second--you’re Rarity--from Twilight's friend group, aren’t you?”
“That I am. My friend Twilight attends your class so we haven’t formally met yet. What’s your name, sir?”
“Aidon Umbros Iota,” he responded as he settled into the coat. “Much better. Thank you. Weird weather conditions, huh?”
“I have to agree, yes,” Rarity replied as she put her items in the trunk of her car, “It’s almost as if it’s a work of mag….ic…” Her voice slowed down as she realized what she had said. “Oh no…”
Aidon looked at her with a worried expression. “...Is something wrong?”
BOOM!
From across the street near the music shop, an explosion could be heard.
“What the hell--?!” Aidon stared hard at the source of the explosion, only to realize… “...Magic from my home world.” He turned to Rarity and said, “You should get home as quickly as possible,” before immediately taking off across the street in a full sprint.
Rarity wasn’t going to let that danger escape her, though as she briskly took off after him--in heels. “Uch--I think not!”