Torches and sconces flared to life for the first time in centuries, illuminating the hallway we found ourselves in in a dusty haze. Ahead of us was a tunnel that curved downwards and to the right, barricaded by a golden gate.
"So, the castle's thousands of protective enchantments... how far down do they reach? Hopefully deep enough to cover the caverns," I mumbled as we walked quietly, feeling another, fainter impact from above rock the castle.
"I fear they may not," frowned Fig. "Although if they don't now, I can assure you... they will in the future."
"Right... too little, too late," I bit my lip. "Madam Kogawa and Professors Howin, Garlick and Shah were fighting alongside the suits of armor on the grounds... I assume that means you told Professor Weasley what's going on?"
"I did. Hopefully, she and the others will arrive soon. They know where to find the door through which we entered."
"Heh, for as secret as those Keepers wanted to keep this, seems like everyone knows about it now." The gate easily swung open at my touch, but suddenly the ground shook hard, as though an earthquake had been triggered. Fig and I ran into the entrance of the caverns just in time to see one of Ranrok's drilling machines burst out of the rock and into the tunnel about fifty feet away. Its studded discs easily chewed through the fortified stone and thick, ancient roots interwoven through the dirt.
"Damn, the goblins!" hissed Fig, drawing his wand. "If his Loyalists are here, he cannot be far behind!"
"If they're just breaking through, then there's still time!" I shouted as my eyes burned, the blue-hot Incendio rocketing out from the tip of my wand and engulfing the machine in its flames. Within seconds the entire thing was glowing cherry-red like an ember, surely roasting the operators inside and melting its controls. The crushed, cracked stone around it fused together from the heat and shimmered like glass.
But the ground, the walls, the entire cavern continued to shake. More of these drills were coming, and fast. As Fig and I hurried down the tunnel I could hear voices behind the rock, goading and cheering unseen others along with promises that their goal was within reach. My eyes darted back and forth along the walls, and I fired more augmented Incendios at any forming cracks I could see.
After what felt like an hour of running and maneuvering through the tunnel's twists and turns, it opened up into a cavern nearly large enough to house the entirety of Hogwarts itself. My heart nearly stopped as Fig and I skidded to a halt.
There was another entire goblin army already inside! Even worse it was fortified by several trolls, all wearing the tainted, red-glowing armor of Ranrok's creation. They were all quickly alerted to our presence, and I saw hundreds of crossbow bolts being readied, hundreds of melee weapons being raised in our direction, crying out for our blood.
My lower lip stuck out as I blew an exhausted sigh onto my forehead. This would take either a lot of time or a lot of magic to work through, neither of which I could afford.
But then, just as if one of us had chugged an entire bottle of Felix Felicis right then and there, I heard five loud cracks at my sides. Standing atop outcroppings and ledges, first Professor Onai Apparated into the cavern, raising her hands threateningly as they crackled with lightning. Then Professor Hecat appeared, followed by Professor Ronen, Professor Sharp, and finally Professor Weasley. Each of them quickly drew their wands and surveyed the army, coming up with a strategy.
"The goblins have somehow evaded the castle's defensive charms," Ronen hummed thoughtfully before launching a Confringo at the closest group of goblins, exploding into bouncing projectiles that chased down others. That was the other professors' cue to begin their assault.
"Steer them this way!" Onai shouted, gesturing towards a natural bottleneck in our path with one hand as she curled her fingers to cast with the other. "We shall make quick work of them!" Soon the entire cavern was alight with spellfire, the goblins and trolls scattering like cockroaches as they tried to make sense of the unexpected backup.
"...They've got this," Fig remarked simply, nodding to me. I mimicked the gesture and followed him into the fray, picking off stray goblins as I rushed past.
If there was ever a good time to activate the Cheering Charm, it was now. With a wave of my wand the two quartz crystals Transfigured themselves into a pair of floating speakers, and music belonging to John Colta from the Equestrian Wrestling Empire began to blare from them, soon accompanied by a loud trill leading into trumpet blasts and lyrics. Almost instantly I felt the doubt and uncertainty within me blow away like dust in the wind, and a burgeoning courage and heartening joy swelled up within my chest.
And I knew Sebastian could feel it, too.
"Your time is up, my time is now! You can't see me, my time is now!"
Empowered by the charm, our casts naturally synchronized with the beat of the song. Entire swaths of goblins were incinerated, blown up or cut down at a time, the trolls among them faring little better. Many of them were swept up by strong winds or shoved off cliffs, only to fall a hundred feet to the stalagmite-covered ground below. Professor Onai transformed into her own Animagus form - an African fish eagle - to quickly swoop across the cavern and drive the goblins towards the bottleneck. Professor Hecat summoned up a Firestorm that rivaled my own, the flames and plasma turning trolls into molten lumps of flesh blindly chasing their allies around in an attempt to put themselves out. Professor Sharp masterfully levitated several small pebbles at once, then sent them all shooting off as fast as gunfire, each of them striking their targets so hard they punched all the way through their bodies. Professor Ronen forced every enemy he hit to dance uncontrollably with Tarantallegra, leaving them sitting ducks for everyone.
Finally I saw what looked like the way forward - a particular section of the grand cavern that glowed with a dark blue light. It was separated from us by a thirty-foot gap and a ledge about fifteen feet high in the air. Before I could teleport up there, however, another troll came crashing through a boulder, its eyes firmly, furiously fixated on me.
And before I could do anything about it, Professor Sharp Apparated directly between the troll and I, an assortment of shortswords and axes collected from goblins floating around him. With one smooth motion he sent them all hurling towards the troll, every weapon sailing past its armor and sinking deep into its flesh. The creature's run slowed to a stumble, its life ebbing away as it bumped full force into a pillar of stone and toddled into the gap. The momentum was enough to crack the base of the pillar, and as bits of it crumbled away it succumbed to gravity, falling straight towards me.
I glared flatly at the falling stone and was about to sidestep it when the grasp of Wingardium Leviosa brought it to a halt. Behind me Professor Weasley had caught it with her magic, and with a little effort she floated the pillar over the gap and dropped it there, creating a bridge. Impressed and appreciative of her ingenuity, I glanced over and nodded my thanks to her before grabbing Fig's hand and pulling him across, goblins hot on our tail. She held it in place just long enough for us to cross, and swiftly ended her spell to let the bridge plummet to the ground below as the lead goblin made a wild leap towards me. I simply leaned over and smiled, waving my fingers at him when he fell a few inches short and screamed all the way down.
Fig shot a worried glance towards his fellow professors, hoping they would be fine as they held Ranrok's army off. We jogged towards the blue glow as it led us through a short tunnel to a chamber clearly created by ancient magic - a single door stretching thirty feet tall lay at the opposite end, emblazoned with the symbol of the Keepers and flanked by two guardian statues just as large. As we drew closer their bodies flared to life, blue-white bodies of pure magic animating their forms. Their heads turned in our direction as they lurched forward, their swords poised high and ready to come crashing down. As Fig took a few worried steps back, I suddenly felt a gentle warmth coming from... somewhere not quite tangible.
This must be where I need to use that wand. I quickly brought the box out from my pocket dimension and threw open the lid, switching my horn into my other hand as I picked it up. The guardian statues began to quicken their pace, so I prepared to cast offhanded as I raised the crafted wand into the air, just in case.
But my instincts were correct - just before they were about to swing their swords, the two statues froze. The wand began to glow brightly with ancient magic, and in response the statues twirled their swords around so that the tips pointed straight downward, and more magic swirled around them as they were driven into the ground. Grooves carved into the metallic floor bled to life with golden light, flowing towards the door and seeping through its cracks. I heard a loud click as the doors split right down the middle, swinging open to finally grant me access. The light within the statues died and they became dormant once again.
A manic smile spread across my face. I could feel the warmth, hear the whispers from here.
This was it.
It was really happening.
The final repository sat in the center of the palatial cavern, just like I had seen it in Bakar's memory, completely untouched by time. Only a thousand-foot walkway suspended over the ground far below separated me from an unfathomable amount of pristine, enchanting, intoxicating ancient magic. The excitement was almost too much, my entire body tingling in anticipation at the same time as my legs feeling like they were made of lead-speckled jelly, but as Fig slowly made his way closer I forced myself to follow him.
"We made it... I'm relieved we got here before Ranrok," he inhaled, taking in the sheer scale of the cavern.
"There it is... the ancient magic." The words tumbled breathily out of my mouth, my eyes filled with beauty, my heart swelling with pride.
Nine hundred feet to go.
As we walked, however, the look on Fig's face transformed from awe to deep thought.
"...Think of all the pain that created it. This is what Miriam, George and countless others died for. Miriam believed this forgotten magic could be used for such good, but... she did not know the risks. She did not see what the Keepers have shown you... what Isidora showed you. You are now the Keeper of whatever power it holds."
"It's about time," I smirked.
Eight hundred feet to go.
"...What do you intend to do with it?" he asked. A bubble of laughter slipped through my lips.
"Oh, I'm definitely taking it for myself. That was always the plan from the very beginning."
"Are you?" he stopped, drawing back in surprise. "After everything you've seen? Everything the Keepers have shown you?"
"Especially after what the Keepers showed me."
"And all this bloodshed in Ranrok's attempts to take it for himself?"
"Yep... and nothing's gonna change my mind about that," I affirmed with a determined nod. "It's everything I've dreamed of since I was little, since my first mentor adopted me."
That's right... it's mine, Celestia... I earned it. I deserve it. I closed my eyes to imagine what it would feel like to finally have the power of a princess at my command.
Alongside it, thoughts of Sebastian graced my mind. Surely he'd be proud of me for finally achieving my goals. But then I remembered his goals, his dream... specifically the one that had been ripped away from him, as it turned out it was never achievable, not by intended means.
The cure for Anne's curse.
It was still a longshot - Isidora was only ever successful in removing emotional pain from her father, not physical pain. And whatever she might've done afterwards had drained him of all emotions entirely. If this was going to have any chance of success, then I had to avoid whatever it was she had done after that. It would be a good first goal to work towards once I'd absorbed all the magic into my body, to join forever with my soul.
"...But, more importantly," my eyes opened as I spoke again, "...I made a promise. And this magic will help me keep it."
"I see..." Fig trailed off as he gazed at the slowly-spinning orbs only seven hundred and fifty feet away. At first I wondered if he'd had a change of heart after learning the tale of Isidora and the Keepers... had come to different conclusions, learned different lessons than I had. Maybe now, instead of wishing to see his late wife's life's work finally finished, now he agreed with them - the thought of which made me shudder.
But then he let out a sigh, and as he turned back to me a kind smile appeared on his face. "...Then as long as there is a noble reason for your desire, I have no complaints." His words were a pleasant surprise, something I seriously doubted I ever would've heard from Celestia. They brought a smile to my face, and I felt nothing but gratitude and fondness for the old man.
Such kindness... such patience... and such trust in me to follow my ambitions. He wasn't eternally young like Celestia might've been, so being a father figure was a bit of a stretch... but he could certainly be the grandfather I never had.
"...The arrogance of wizardkind."
My heart leapt into my throat at the familiar low, drawling growl. I growled myself as Fig and I turned to see Ranrok, alone, approaching us from the tunnel's entrance. His armor and eyes glimmered with blood-red light, the cries of the tainted magic slithering into my ears, staining my nose with rust. Impending doom began to creep into the back of my mind. My Cheering Charm was still active, however, the music strangely quieting down and fading into the background as it worked to keep the emotion to a minimum.
"Goblins built this repository... it belongs to us," Ranrok hissed as he drew closer, tainted magic crackling around his body.
"And you goblins have a stupid view of ownership," I rolled my eyes as Fig and I kept our wands trained on him. "This magic is mine, Ranrok, and once I absorb it all, I'm going to rip out the magic from the other repository you stole from me and absorb that, too." The goblin sighed through his nose as his eyes narrowed, and he reached slowly behind his back.
"...I've been wanting to play with this," he sneered as he pulled out a light-colored wand, bringing it around to point it at us. Behind me, Fig let out an angry, ragged gasp.
"Miriam's wand...!"
"If she'd simply handed over the container, all of this could have been avoided," Ranrok smirked as he stared at the wand's intricate carvings, creating a swirling cage near its base. "...Foolish, self-important witch." Infuriated, Fig shouted as he hurled a Depulso at Ranrok, but it was casually deflected away with a red-tinged Protego. The goblin grinned darkly as he taunted my mentor further. "Seems you were two of a kind... she didn't know when to give up, either."
And before either of us could react, Ranrok fired a Depulso of his own, but not at either of us. Instead the bolt of magic rocketed directly between us. My head whipped around to follow its trajectory, and my eyes widened in horror as I realized what his target really had been.
Half a second later, the final repository exploded. I tried to brace myself for the shockwave's impact, but it still knocked Fig and I to the ground towards Ranrok's feet, the crystals at my sides blaring the Cheering Charm shattering to pieces. He huffed once in amusement before focusing on the unleashed magic before him, his armor glowing brighter than ever before until his form disappeared into the light. Then I felt a rush of wind blow past me over my head, and my heart sunk into my stomach.
He had beaten me to the magic after all.
Curse my hubris.
Fig and I got up and watched helplessly as the wisps and strands of ancient magic contained within the repository turned to red at his touch, the taint coalescing into an orb and multiplying until it shone with the darkness of a subterranean star. From the center emerged a terrifying sight - a dragon the size of the Great Hall hewn from swirling, twisted metal like the guardian statues, but darker in color with blood-red light glowing from within. It produced a cackling roar with Ranrok's voice as he gloated in his victory.
"Goblinkind shall answer to no one!" His voice reverberated loudly off the cavern walls, small cracks forming in the rock at the mere vibrations. Then with a burst of alarming speed he swooped down at Fig and I, a torrent of magic-tainted fire spewing from his mouth. We leapt out of the way, unable to even throw up a Protego to counter it in time... although judging by the power I sensed, it wouldn't have helped much. Just the one attack was enough to cause the entire cavern to tremble harder, with large rocks and small boulders falling from above like rain. Fissures began snaking their way across the walls, weakening them and threatening to bring down the entirety of Hogwarts Castle and the hill it sat upon on our heads.
My eyes darted towards every new crack I heard forming, every piece of falling stone. In the middle of it all I heard Fig grunting in exertion as he tried to weather the storm of falling rocks with his magic, watching anxiously for Ranrok to reappear.
But before I could find him among the blinding clouds of dust, I heard something large fall and shatter, and I heard him scream. My ears dragged the rest of my body towards the freshly-created cliff, still unable to see my mentor but hearing his voice sink faster and further away.
Fig...!
I tried desperately to find him, even as his voice gradually vanished from my ears. But I saw nothing but stone and dust.
...
Fig...
"Foolish witch!" Ranrok laughed as his form swooped past again, knocking me on my arse and out of my daze. "After all this time... the forgotten knowledge of the Keepers is mine!" I blinked a few times as I forced my brain to switch gears, shock and horror twisting into furious rage.
This goblin... this wretched little shriveled vegetable... if he thought he was gonna get away with stealing all of my ancient magic, then he was sorely mistaken! I didn't care if he was stronger, more powerful than me, because I was gonna swat that bastard out of the sky and beat every little shred of magic out of him until there was nothing left!
"And as my first act of vengeance... I shall send this accursed castle to the depths of the earth!" he cried out as he swooped past again. Now a protective urge flared up within me, matching my fury - this bastard was threatening my friends, my teachers and the few other students that had remained for the holiday break! A proper warmonger would only target those who could put up a fight against them, but this...
...This was a school. A sanctuary, a refuge... a home, for those like me. And by Celestia, I wasn't gonna let him destroy it on a whim.
"No, you don't... get back here!" I shouted, my eyes gleaming as I drew out my broom from my pocket dimension and soared up to meet him. Ranrok careened down a tunnel leading into one of the cave systems, wasting no time in breathing his tainted fire on columns formed by joined stalagmites and stalactites, and purposefully crashing into the walls to weaken them. It was a struggle to catch up to him and even more difficult to keep up, between repairing the damaged columns with empowered Reparos and sealing cracked walls with Incendios while dodging all the rocks falling from above.
He quickly caught on that I was following him, and he abruptly changed course down a different tunnel, forcing me to yank my broom's handle as hard as I could to turn so sharply. Growling as I realized it'd be too hard to focus on controlling the broom and casting at the same time, I took a moment to Epoximise my feet to the broomstick, then stood up and rode it like a surfboard as I trailed after him. The spark of brilliance worked like a dream as it allowed me to accelerate and steer with only subtle shifts in balance, leaving me free to concentrate on repairing the damage done to the cave systems. Ranrok tried as hard as he could to lose me, plummeting down various tunnels and using his wings to grab onto ledges so he could use the momentum to swing around blind corners.
I wondered just how much power, how much stamina the ancient magic had given him. He could probably keep this up forever, or at least for way longer than I could. But a full assault with magic was likely to fail right now, he certainly outpowered me by a wide margin. I would need to get... creative.
Another boulder falling past to my right was just the inspiration I needed. My eyes glowed as I caught it in my magic and slowed its momentum until it was fully under my control, then with as much force as I could manage I hurled it at Ranrok, striking him in his right wing. He screeched in pain and maneuvered around to breathe his tainted fire at me; though it was easily dodged I could feel the deadly heat shimmering across my skin as it passed by, sweat beading on my forehead and dampening my robes. But it had worked, and whenever I could spare the moment amidst repairing the damage I repeated the tactic against him. Cracks eventually formed in the hollow metal wing bones, and with a final impact from an especially-large boulder Ranrok's left wing snapped off in a massive spray of red light and fragile shards of goblin silver. The shriek of pain was nearly deafening as the dragon crashed to the ground, his body crumbling stalagmites in his wake as he ground to a halt.
I didn't allow him a moment's respite - he had landed at the base of the now-empty repository. With an empowered Bombarda I shattered the remains of the swirling stone cage that held the empty orbs, froze them in midair to cancel out their momentum and directed the huge pieces to fall on top of him, burying him alive. More of the tainted ancient magic bled out of his ruptured form and floated into the air, free from its prison. A wisp of it floated past me, and as I held out my wand the magic wrapped itself around the tip as though magnetically drawn.
I gazed at the glowing bulb of red... when Isidora had inhaled the negative emotions she'd gathered from others, it had given her power. Power that... I could definitely use at the moment. I couldn't just keep dropping rocks on top of him without risking the cavern collapsing, and he was still likely too powerful to be affected by my magic as it was.
But... was it worth possibly becoming addicted? Even now I could hear the tortured screams of the magic, smell the tang of blood that stained it. What if I couldn't control it?
"Arrogant, annoying witch..." I heard Ranrok seethe as he stirred, the boulders beginning to roll off and fall away. "I see I will have to kill you first before I can destroy the school."
"You can try... or you can just give up and let me take my ancient magic back, save us both some trouble," I shrugged flippantly. Ranrok laughed with a hint of a strain as the last of the rubble slid off his back, allowing him to stand again. His body pulsed darkly and his eyes flashed with malice.
"I see now that one dragon alone isn't enough to deal with you... how fortunate that I have control of two more." Suddenly I heard a pair of faint roars on either side of the edges of the cavern, distant but quickly coming closer. Seconds later their owners burst out from the side tunnels in a flash of red light, two winged behemoths of black scales and leather.
I gasped; my body trembled slightly as I realized I'd seen these dragons before. One was the dragon that had attacked the carriage George, Fig and I had been riding on our way to Hogwarts, while the other was one of the dragons from Horntail Hall. Both had suffered much more abuse since then, their bodies covered in barely-healed gashes beneath the heavy goblin silver collars.
Ranrok was really serious, now. I wondered if I had it in me to possibly kill three dragons at once, one of them being an ancient magic-infused abomination. And I didn't need to be reminded of what would happen if I failed... besides losing the magic, and my life. The world would definitely change for the worse... especially for my friends.
For Sebastian... for Natty, for Poppy, and for Ominis. The rest of the world could devolve into chaos for all I cared, just so long as they were unharmed, and happy. But none of them would likely be happy with the world in such a sorry state, now would they?
Yes... I saw it, now... the true price of accepting this great power. Defeating Ranrok was far more important to them - to me - than keeping a firm hold on my own sanity. I glanced down a final time at the glowing magic, and with a resolute glare I closed my eyes... and inhaled.
At once my nose filled with blood, but before I could gag it melted away into a soothing heat that quickly spread into my face, then down my neck and into my entire body. A couple seconds later the heat morphed into a tingling sensation that raced up and down my arms, making my fingers twitch with energy. The tortured screams quieted down and fell silent, leaving me with a sense of peace knowing that they had finally been seen... felt... heard. My heart felt lighter, my soul... stronger, like my magical power had increased tenfold, along with my resolve. It was like a Cheering Charm without any Charm at all.
So this was what Isidora had become addicted to.
Ranrok charged, prompting the other two dragons to do the same, flanking his sides as they soared. I closed my eyes in fear of the impact even as I teleported behind them; I breathed a sigh of relief and turned to face them as they slowed to turn around. My eyes glowed as I hurled my wand skyward, spikes of stone shooting upwards at an angle around the dragon on the right to trap it in place. It roared angrily and began spewing fire everywhere, making Ranrok sidestep it before charging again.
This time I chuckled as I effortlessly teleported away, reappearing on top of the crown of stone tips above the makeshift dragon cage. It hadn't noticed I'd gotten so close in its rage, the smoke and ash accumulating on the spikes interfering with its sense of smell. While it exhaled another stream of flame to the left, my eyes spied the locking mechanisms on the back of its collar, and my eyes glowed again as I forced it open with Alohomora.
The collar fell to the ground with a dull clank. Almost immediately the dragon's demeanor changed, calming down and ceasing its tantrum. Curiously I waved away the stone cage to see what it would do, and found myself grinning as the dragon turned on Ranrok, taking off with a roar and flying directly towards him. He managed to leap out of the way in time, and the other dragon changed its course to collide with the free one. They crashed to the ground in a tangle of talons, fangs, scales and fire.
While they fought, Ranrok reared up and breathed his tainted fire at me, then swiped with his claws, his tail and his one good wing. The first blast was avoided by rolling away, and I ducked and dodged around his attacks until one got too close. I cast Protego on reflex to try to absorb the blow from his tail, and it mostly worked - the thick appendage broke through my shield, but hit with the force of a large kneazle leaping onto my chest. Still, it wasn't something I wanted to repeat.
But from this I gauged that he'd lost a significant chunk of his magic. The next time he swung I punched my wand into the air, summoning a spike of stone between his right forearm and my body. It crumbled from the impact, but I could hear the goblin-turned-dragon snarl in pain as he drew it back. He swung again and again, growling and cursing as I kept blocking his attacks with more summoned spikes.
"How long are you going to delay the inevitable?!" he roared, breathing a gout of tainted flame as he heaved his tail at me like a whip. I raised an entire slab of stone from the ground to shield myself, my eyes racing over the rubble strewn all over the cavern from his attacks.
Just a little more.
"You want me to attack, do you?" I retorted as I summoned up three more spikes in front of me like a fence. Ranrok made a show of demolishing them, and as the final calculation fell into place within my mind, I grinned. "Alright... be careful what you wish for!" With a broad sweep of my wand, I separated the trace amounts of iron within the pulverized rocks, and fused it together with carbon scraped from the ground. The two elements melded together, and a swish and a flick Transfigured the raw steel into a rough but solid pellet the size of a loaf of bread.
I heard a bubble of mocking laughter begin to erupt from Ranrok's throat, but he shut up once I sent the pellet flying into his jaw. My eyes glowed as I controlled the metal as masterfully as a puppet, my magic wrenching it free and shooting it forward like a pugilist's punch, aiming for his eyes. Every impact rang against the monster's body like a gong, the sound reverberating off the cavern walls and forcing a rain of pebbles from above. His attacks quickly morphed into wild flailing as he tried to fight through the painful distraction, the dark metal that formed his head denting and pitting with every blow.
A loud, fiery bellow drew my attention back to the pair of dragons fighting each other - the one I had freed had the other pinned to the ground beneath its body. At the same time Ranrok opened his mouth to breathe another blast of fire, just as I saw the locking mechanisms of the other dragon's collar rattling loosely. With a flick of my wrist I fired the floating pellet straight down Ranrok's throat, and as he clawed at his own neck while choking and gagging it back up, I released the other dragon from its collar. The first dragon I'd freed lifted itself from the other, and perhaps sensing weakness or wanting revenge, both of them charged straight for Ranrok. Just as he spit out the pellet he vanished inside two blasts of flame, the pained shriek from his throat hoarse and wet. A few seconds later a cloud of tainted ancient magic began billowing out of the fire, swirling within the backdraft.
With a careful Ventus I directed the mist towards me, breathing deeply as it neared my face. Again my nose filled with the scent of blood, only to melt into a warmth so intense my body felt like it was on fire. Then came the tingling sensation, stronger than ever, like every muscle fiber within me was twitching, screaming for release... and the calming, blissful silence. The power, the raw magic flowing through my veins was unmatched by any sensation I'd ever felt in my life.
I felt like I could level an entire city with one simple spell.
The light from the dragons' flames died out as Ranrok unleashed a scream of effort. Heat shimmered from his metallic form, glowing cherry-red and melting into misshapen limbs and grotesque flaps of silvery flesh, part of his face obscuring his eyes and mouth. His other wing had snapped off and laid on the ground, slowly disintegrating back into tainted magic flying through the air.
But despite all the damage, he managed to grab one of the dragons by its neck and slam it to the ground. Its pitiful screech stung my ears as it thrashed uncontrollably, desperately trying to get away as its flesh cooked in his grasp. The scent of charred meat filled the air, and soon the dragon's movements slowed, and then stopped. Seeing its unfortunate companion fall in battle, the other dragon flapped its wings like a spooked pigeon and quickly flew away.
"No... How are you doing this?! This is my magic! My power! My possession!" Ranrok growled as he struggled to stand; he let go of the dead dragon, but his hand and arm had cooled too much - the entire limb was fused together into a solid mass. He snarled in frustration as he grabbed his shoulder with his other hand and simply ripped off the offending limb, brandishing it like a club. His movements were jerky and awkward as he stomped towards me, forcing his gait into a run.
I smiled darkly as he quickly approached. I had finally absorbed enough magic to face him head-on, I knew it without a doubt in my mind... Now I could finish this. My eyes flared brighter than ever as I channeled my will into my horn, the power leaking out of the millions of microscopic foramina that covered it like steam from a kettle, until it formed a swordlike weapon of pure magic.
"It was never yours to begin with! I'm the only one who can see it! And I'm the only one who can control it!" My legs felt light as feathers as I bent down, and as I charged forward to meet him I ran three times as fast as before, more magic streaming behind me in my wake. My mageblade slammed into his improvised weapon, the dent it formed nearly bending it in half. Ranrok gasped in shock as I huffed with laughter, my arm swinging relentlessly at his severed arm until the cracked, splintering metal finally shattered. With only one arm left, he was nearly defenseless as I used my leftover momentum to swing around, charging up and unleashing a Depulso that sent him flying into the air.
Then while he was still flying I teleported above him, anticipating his exact position at the moment of impact, and fired a second Depulso straight down in an overhead smash. The brutalized abomination bellowed in pain, then gagged loudly as he made contact with the ground. The entire cavern shook violently as dust and an explosion of dark red light filled the air.
My smile stretched from ear to ear as I teleported beside the smoldering crater. About three feet down Ranrok struggled to sit up, most of his goblin form returned to him. His remaining right arm, his lower left leg and the left side of his face still bore a monstrous, draconic skeletal form, but the metal was heavily damaged - so twisted and fractured that one more blow would destroy them entirely. Blood spurted from the stump of his left arm, between his transformed fingers as he tried in vain to staunch the flow.
"Y-You..." he gasped for breath, finally trembling in fear. "W-Who are you?! W-Why are you s-so powerful?!"
"Who am I?" I cackled until my breath gave out, inhaling the red mist through grinning teeth. So much ancient magic was rushing through my veins, electrifying my body, setting my soul on fire... and I still wanted more. "I am Sunset Shimmer... daughter of Princess Celestia. And you stole something of mine. I want it back."
I needed more.
I craved more.
"No... n-no! By my ancestors, t-this repository is mine! B-Both of them, mine! The magic within them is mine! Do you h-hear me?! IT'S! ALL! MINE!!!"
I couldn't help but laugh as his world and his pride collapsed around him. Equestrian Dark magic blazed from my eyes, brighter than the biggest supernova as I prepared for the coup de grâce... with the vast majority of his tainted magic drained, I could now be reasonably sure he wouldn't just deflect the otherwise-unblockable attack somehow. A pity it wasn't exactly something I could research beforehand, or with much ease in the future.
Oh well. I laughed a few seconds more before looking him in the eyes with a smirk.
"...Caveat venditor."
The cavern lit up with a bright flash of green, fading away as quickly as it had appeared.
...
...
...
After watching carefully for a few seconds I let out a deep sigh of relief.
Ranrok lay dead within a crater grave, within the rubble-covered ground. With his death, the remaining goblins backing him would lose their resolve, crawling back into the underground mines and the bank from which they came. The utter demoralization would ensure that there wouldn't be another goblin rebellion for a long time.
It was still rather tragic, though... he may have wanted recognition and acknowledgement for his people from the wizarding world, to be seen and treated as our equals, but this wasn't the way to go about it. 'Course, I didn't really know what else he could have done if he was already so desperate he resorted to such violence, but his actions would only further cement his kind's position in this world, for many years to come. In essence, he'd done the complete opposite of what he'd originally set out to achieve.
Such was the fate of the loser.
Miriam's wand fell from his tattered clothing, rolling a few times in a spiral before coming to a stop. I bent down and picked it up, tracing its hollow curves with my eyes. Fig would be happy to know that her death had finally been avenged...
...if he was still alive. I hadn't seen hide nor hair of him since Ranrok destroyed the repository, and he'd fallen into the depths. I hoped he was - it'd only be right to show him the magic once I'd absorbed it safely into myself, show him the fruits of his late wife's labors.
But yet another tremor wracked the ground and sent boulders clattering from high above, and I shook my head. Now wasn't the time to wax philosophical. Staring upwards, the last of the ancient magic had coalesced into an enormous bubble, floating peacefully in the center of the cavern as it threatened to collapse on top of me. Both blue-white and red-black lights swirled around each other in a yin-yang fashion, seemingly stable without containment.
My eyes shifted to the walls and ceiling beyond, however. Despite my earlier efforts to repair the damage Ranrok had caused, it had just been too great. Cracks and fissures were still forming with every stomach-churning quake, threatening to crush me before I could claim my prize.
It was now or never.
I held my breath as I cast Ascendio on myself until I was directly in the center of the swirling, murmuring magic. I heard both screams of agony and whispers of joy, smelled the sharpness of ozone and the rust of blood.
I closed my eyes... and inhaled.
And my mind was overwhelmed.
~
Heat.
Blood.
A violent gale rushed around me as I opened my eyes into darkness. I saw nothing, but could feel the magic flowing around me like I was a log in the middle of a river. I could feel its presence, hear its voices, smell its essence.
But suddenly the sensations grew calm, almost frozen in midair. A dim, white light like fog bloomed into existence about ten feet in front of me, gradually taking the form of a woman. The air around me chilled rapidly until I could see my breath, but no breath came from her mouth as she spoke. Her voice was ethereal and delicate, quiet yet firm.
"Finally... you're the one I've been waiting for." As her form solidified and her features gained definition, I gasped as I realized who she was... what she was.
"Isidora...?" She nodded once with a soft smile. "You... became a ghost?"
"I did," she gently closed her eyes as she gestured vaguely with a hand to her right. "After experiencing the treachery of the Keepers I knew I couldn't rest until I had found another like me... someone who could not only see and use ancient magic, but also had the desire to use that magic to benefit the world, and all of wizardkind."
"Well, I... dunno if I'd go that far," I muttered under my breath, "but the Keepers were fools to fear this magic. Just thinking of the possibilities before me, now that it's all mine..."
"It is," she nodded again. "And I shall teach you all that I know."
"You will?!" A wide grin stretched across my face as my fists clenched in front of me. "Oh, awesome, those useless old farts barely taught me a thing! ...Well, first off, can you tell me how you extracted your father's emotional pain from him?"
"Of course," she smiled serenely. "It was simply a matter of harnessing the ancient magic to empathize, and feel his pain... then reaching deep within his soul, taking hold of those negative emotions-"
As I watched her hand reach out to me, suddenly I felt an indescribable force within my chest, pulling as though it had wrapped itself around my very heart. Somehow it felt strangely calming... for some reason, I didn't feel all too concerned about it. Once I realized that I felt that way, however, the emotions came surging back like a tide.
Hey, what... what is this?! What are you doing to me...?!
"...And pulling them out, like weeds from a garden," Isidora finished, her eyes glazing over as they flashed red. I blinked a couple times as I tried to make sense of what just happened.
That... those were my emotions! But...!
"Uh... did you just try to take my emotions?" I took a wary step back. "Why? I wasn't feeling the least bit negative."
"Maybe not now... but you will." Through her smile, her calm demeanor and soothing voice suddenly made my hackles rise, all of my hairs standing on end.
Something was seriously wrong here. "I... don't follow," my lips thinned.
"Even the happiest moment must come to an end, the inevitable void it leaves behind unbearable," she explained. "All emotions cause pain eventually."
"All emotions?" I inhaled sharply once I realized what she was getting at, all of the pieces finally falling into place. That sure would explain why there seemed to be two types of ancient magic: the tainted negative emotions... and the pure positive ones. Those that were screams full of torment, sorrow, anger and agony... and those whose whispers elicited joy, serenity, warmth and acceptance.
But... but that would mean... the Keepers had been right. And that was something my brain was struggling to comprehend. "You took them, the emotions... Y-You took them all... from those students? Your own father?!"
"My father was grateful that I'd brought him out from his endless malaise." Isidora glanced down at the ground with a fond, yet empty smirk. "I never wanted him to feel pain nor sadness again, I couldn't stand to see him with anything less than a smile on his face. Over time, however... he would remember my brother, and his happiness would wane. Then he would worry about me, and then about his crops, the house, the other villagers, my future... his worries kept building up more and more, and he would only further slip into a depression. I did what I could to alleviate his pain, and briefly the father I knew and loved would return. He was proud of my accomplishments... eager to assist with my research."
"Research...?" I breathed, not sure I was liking where this was headed.
"First I took his fears, as well as his pain... then I took his anger when a number of the hamlet's livestock were slaughtered one night, and no culprit was ever found. Each time I felt his pain I took more and more from him, but his happiness grew ever more fleeting... and then I realized the true cause of his pain."
"The... true cause?" I swallowed. Isidora's eyes flicked back up towards me, her vacant expression chilling me to my core.
"Emotions. If one feels an emotion, they can feel the pain it eventually causes... and all emotions inevitably lead to pain. The fleeting nature of happiness leads to sorrow, and along with anger and fear, they only breed resentment and suffering. If I... if we are to heal the world, then logic dictates that all emotions must be removed... to be truly free from pain. And, of course, the opposite of empathy..."
"...Is apathy," I finished for her, my mouth dry. "Did... D-Did he realize what you were doing to him? Y-Your students...?!"
"My father... he wanted me to take his pain away. He never even had to ask - I could see it in his eyes," she said. "And my dear students... they were like family to me, almost like the children I never had. I encouraged each of them to come to me if something was troubling them... and many of them were suffering."
"Suffering...?!" I gasped angrily, finally realizing the truth of her work. "No... coming to this school and learning magic, making friends, getting away from their families... it might have been the happiest time of their lives! And you took that from them! How many students did you lure down here with your jaded promises of removing their inner pain?! Instead of... o-of therapy, you gave them a lobotomy!"
"I gave them a calm, steady mind," Isidora replied simply. "I gave them peace."
"No... y-you... you...!" My hands flew to the sides of my head, fingers threading through my hair and pulling. The implications of her words, the explanation for her research was... horrifying! How could she have treated her own father like a guinea pig, how could she have stooped so low as to prey on the children who depended on her?! How... how could my view of her have been so wrong?
I wanted so desperately to see what I wanted to see. I wanted to believe that Isidora was a visionary far ahead of her time, unjustly restricted and censored by her stodgy, stubborn peers! But the truth of the matter was that... her research had led her to a terrible conclusion, and unlike any sane, scientifically-minded witch... she cast all semblance of ethics aside. There was a stark difference between experimentation for a greater purpose and finding the results unfavorable, and furthering the experiments on the unfavorable results. And from her words, it seemed that the power she gained from inhaling those results was simply a bonus. An incidental reward.
But the worst part of it all was that... part of me actually agreed with her. Emotions were the cause of so much grief in my life. Even before I had come to this world, in my quest to find out the truth behind the destiny shown to me in the Crystal Mirror, the frustration it caused when my progress was slow, and then I was caught... the banishment from Celestia's castle and tutelage, and thinking she'd disowned me as her daughter... it hurt. It hurt so much.
And then when this whole experience first started, when I first felt the influence of the ancient magic within me, my newfound emotions had been an unwelcome addition. I wanted to be the best, the most powerful witch in the world, and to do that I had to mercilessly trample my competition and outshine them all. I used my classmates to get what I wanted, took pleasure in seeing them fail, went out of my way to torment those who had inconvenienced me in even the slightest fashion. But those damned emotions, they betrayed my pride and independence, goaded me into spending time with classmates far beneath my favor or consideration, made me... care about their dull, insignificant lives.
...
...
...
...But without them... I never would have made any friends.
I never would have gotten to know Natty. Never would have helped her cleanse the region from Harlow's callous grip. Never would have seen her transform into her Animagus form, or become fascinated by the way she could cast without a wand. Never would have cheered her on in Crossed Wands, feeling proud of her victories and respecting her skills, even if I was objectively the better duelist among us.
I never would have gotten to know Poppy. Never would have bonded with her over our respect and care for creatures, no matter how small or fragile. Never would have helped her befriend a half-equine race and gain their trust. Never would have realized the truth about her past, making her never-ending quest all the more pure and important. Never... would have brought her and Natty together.
I never would have gotten to know Ominis. Never would have spent countless classes together amusing ourselves when the material was already learned and the lectures boring. Never would have learned so much about the castle and this world without his insights. Never would have helped him begin to heal from his terrible, traumatic upbringing.
...And I never would have gotten to know Sebastian. Someone so much like me, almost like my mirror image. I never would have realized how brave, how kind, how selfless and brilliant he was. I never would have come to care so deeply for him, wanted to protect him from the unjustness of this world, wanted to teach him everything I knew and feel so proud when he mastered it all... I never would have met my equal.
These four humans... these wonderful humans I called my friends... even if we all went our separate ways after graduation, and never saw each other again... though I would surely cry, and sulk, and scream, I would also forever cherish the time we spent together. The memories we all shared made my heart glow with a warmth and brightness that rivaled the sun itself.
And those emotions, that feeling... they gave me strength.
They gave me power.
And with all of their help... I had finally reached my destiny.
I finally saw the truth of the magic I had hunted for so long, and now finally possessed.
"...You're wrong. Those emotions you call fleeting... joy, passion, optimism, love... happiness. They're all worth the pain we all endure in life," I scowled in determination. "Even the negative emotions are necessary for us to feel, because they make the positive emotions we feel all the more powerful! Without pain... we won't grow."
"Fool..." Isidora shook her head mournfully. "My father did not grow from his pain... he wilted from it!"
"Well... yea, you have a point there," I shrugged, wincing begrudgingly. "But there's always gonna be an exception to the rule, so 99.9% of the time, pain is important! We need to feel pain!"
"No! Pain must be vanquished wherever it may appear!" she shouted as she floated menacingly towards me. It was just too bad for her that ghosts couldn't do anything to the living other than make them feel wet and freezing for a few seconds. Even as I closed my eyes and her form passed through mine, I barely felt the icy dampness of her presence.
"...Some of our most desperate desires have too high a price to pay."
"There is no price too high to improve the lives of millions!" Isidora countered. "I used my power to heal my father, to heal my students... I wanted to use the ancient magic to heal the world! And if you will not accept that price, then I will not teach you how to use that power! It will be as useless to you as it was in the hands of the Keepers!"
I snorted in annoyance at her petulance. All this magic was finally mine, but because I hadn't fallen into insanity and addiction like she had, she refused to teach me anything useful about it. I refused to drain the emotions from the unwilling like a wretched Changeling.
But I also refused to seal this magic away from the world like those foolish Keepers had done. After so many years of study, so many years of striving for power and greatness, it was finally within reach. I would sooner die than put that power back where it came from, to wither away and lay forgotten!
No... I didn't like either of these choices.
So it was time to make my own.
"...I don't need you to teach me. Magic is no different than any power, what really matters is the one who wields it," I affirmed, my eyes glowing like stars, my heart and soul swelling with warmth that could rival the very sun. As I felt a threshold approaching, something snapped deep within me, and the light from my eyes came to engulf my entire being. Isidora could only stare in horror as I smirked confidently at her.
"And you... are not deserving of this power."
I closed my eyes and focused; my will transformed into a psychic force, grabbing every last molecule of the ancient magic swirling around me and pulling it into my body. Screams and whispers filled my ears, gradually falling silent as they became bathed in the warmth of my soul. Once there was nothing left to absorb I opened my eyes again, sending out a pulse of pure positive emotions: happiness, peace, pride... love.
Isidora screamed as the pulse of ancient magic drove her away, ripping her ephemeral form to shreds, taking the darkness surrounding me along with them. Within seconds sight returned to my eyes, and I found myself back in the cavern beneath Hogwarts. But a radiant light shone from my very being, casting dancing shadows upon each and every surface.
My eyes were filled with blue-white light. Another horn formed from pure ancient magic extended a foot out of my forehead, and matching wings fluttered behind my shoulders, keeping me aloft high in the air. I stared at my own glowing hands, alight with power and magic, proof that the magic was now an integral, irrevocable, immutable part of me. I now commanded the power of a princess.
A stray thought murmured in the back of my mind... but what about Isidora? Ghosts were already dead, you couldn't kill them a second time... But then again, I doubt one was ever blasted with ancient magic before. Even as I paid careful attention to my surroundings, I couldn't sense her presence at all.
All I could sense was the constant rumbling. The entire cavern was shaking as though it was the epicenter of an earthquake reaching a ten on the Yakhter scale. Boulders the size of classrooms were dropping down from the ceiling.
But it barely mattered anymore.
Not when I'd finally done it.
It was finally over.
The power...
It's mine.
Mine...
...
Hehehe...
Hahahahaha...
Hahahahahahahahaha...
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
AAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
...
...
...
...Alright, now that that's out of my system... time to fix the cavern so Hogwarts doesn't fall into a giant sinkhole.
"Reparo!" My entire body glowed like the sun as I shouted the incantation, the light shooting from the horn in my hand almost blinding. Even with all my newfound power, the cracks in the stone were sealing too slowly for my liking. The cavern was still shaking wildly.
I growled in exertion as I poured more magic into the spell, the light becoming so intense it hurt even behind my closed eyes. I could feel the fissures in the rock walls closing back together, the columns reassembling themselves, the stalactites and stalagmites rolling and zipping back into place. Gradually the tremors grew weaker, but I still wasn't satisfied. I needed to be sure this cave system would never fall again. As I opened my eyes just a sliver to check my progress, I almost didn't notice a second beam of magic joining alongside mine.
"Fig!" I gasped, my head whipping around to face him. He only smiled with exhaustion in response; I turned my attention back towards repairing the caverns, relieved to know he was alright. It took nearly ten straight minutes of casting, but with my mentor's help the walls were fused and solidified, glimmering like obsidian in the darkness.
"You're okay!" I smiled as I rushed over to him. "I couldn't see you after Ranrok's first attack, I-"
It was only now that I realized his entire left side was dripping red. And now that I'd realized it, Fig dropped to the ground in a pool of blood. I dropped down to his side as he rolled over onto his back, his head tilted to the side as he coughed up his life. My head shook in disbelief - he had been just fine the last time I saw him!
But now...
"...You're not okay. You're really not okay," I swallowed, reaching into my pocket dimension for a Wiggenweld potion. As I pulled one out, however, my body froze as my eyes locked with his - they were glazed over, and his breaths were already growing shallow and weak.
He was beyond the help of Wiggenweld now.
He was beyond the help of any form of magic.
"M-Miriam..." he wheezed. I hesitated for a moment before realizing what he'd said, and quickly pulled out the light-colored wand. Fig gasped in surprise, coughed, then sighed contentedly as he took hold of it, clutching it to his chest. His next words were barely audible. "...Miriam w-would have loved you, S-Sunset."
"H-Hey, don't start saying things like that," my voice warbled. My body began to shake as a cold chill washed over me, like someone had dumped a bucket of water on my head. "You're gonna be okay, alright? Just s-stay with me-"
"The w-wizarding world... could not be in more... capable hands... You... are stronger than you know..."
Fig's body relaxed, and his eyes drifted away before dimming completely, partially open. His grip on Miriam's wand loosened until it nearly slid out of his fingers. His chest, his neck... his mouth stopped moving.
Silence.
The cold chill froze solid, and with it my entire body, my mind, my heart and my soul.
I don't know how long I sat there, watching his body for any sign of life. The glow of the ancient magic within me faded away and grew dormant, my wings and horn disappearing in a flash of sparkles. The air was still, and cold, and far too quiet.
Professor Fig... my mentor...
...was dead.
My body felt frigid, heavy, yet empty. I had been distraught when Celestia had banished me from her castle, yes... distraught when she declared I was no longer her student... but this...
Celestia was eternal; an undying Alicorn both blessed and cursed with immortality. Fig, however... was very much mortal. And yet, I never thought that this would be the way he'd die. Wizards tended to live twice as long as the average Muggle, who in turn lived as long as the average pony. I'd assumed- expected him to be my mentor for many years to come.
But now it was not to be. It would never be. Not anymore.
Ranrok had seen to that.
"Miss Shimmer!" I could only barely hear Professor Weasley calling out to me as she ran towards us, nearly tripping over her own feet as she saw what had happened. The other professors who had joined her in the depths below Hogwarts were right behind her. "Miss Shi- ...oh... oh, Merlin, no! No! Eleazar!"
"No..." breathed Professor Onai. Hecat, Ronen and Sharp gasped and bowed their heads in sorrow, while Weasley knelt down and laid a hand on my shoulder.
"Miss Shimmer... Sunset. I'm so sorry... you're not hurt, are you?" I couldn't find the strength, the will to speak... I simply dragged my eyes upwards to look at her, and barely shook my head. "Ah, good... that's good," she smiled weakly.
"Matilda, could you please help with tending to dear Eleazar?" Hecat asked quietly. Onai was sobbing into Ronen's shoulder as he comforted her, leaving herself and Sharp free. "Aesop and I will reestablish the protective charms within the caverns. We must ensure that the goblins can never repeat an incursion like this."
"Yes, Dinah... very well," she nodded once as she stood up. "Will you be alright, Sunset?"
"I... yea..." I forced the words out. Weasley shot me a sympathetic smile before turning her attention to Fig. I stared vacantly at a spot to his left, not really registering any of my surroundings. It was a struggle to even form a single coherent thought.
...But one finally formed. Ranrok was to blame for this... Fig's blood was on his hands. And it was time to show his followers the price he paid for his insolence.
I cast Wingardium Leviosa on the goblin's broken body, and shambled away like a ghost.
~
It took me about ten minutes to find a drill tunnel leading outside to the castle grounds, and another five minutes to make my way through. I emerged into a sea of corpses.
Hundreds of dead goblins littered the ground - chewed to pieces by cabbages, trampled by beasts, and torn apart or burned by spells. The only ones still alive were medics in dirty white uniforms tending to those lucky enough to only have been wounded.
All of them stopped what they were doing and focused on me, frightened whispers filling the air as they realized whose corpse I held in my magic. Dropping his body unceremoniously to the ground, I pointed my wand at my throat and cast a Sonorus Charm on myself. "Ranrok is dead," I decreed. "Your rebellion has failed. And unless you want to be next, then I suggest you leave. Immediately."
There were a few horrified shouts as the medics doubled their efforts and quickened their pace. I watched them emotionlessly as they scrambled, a tired glare drawing moisture from my eyes. There was a flash of light to my left about twenty feet away, and with almost a look of disbelief on his face, Sebastian sprinted over to me, sweeping me up in his arms and squeezing me tight.
I hardly moved. I could barely feel his warmth or his presence.
"...You're alright," he sighed in relief. "Oh, thank Merlin, I was so worried when your Cheering Charm cut off. Are you-?"
He trailed off as he tried to look me in the eyes - I was staring right through him. Upon realizing he'd stopped speaking I refocused and gazed at him, unsure of what to say.
"...Sunset?"
The concern on his face broke me. The tears began to fall.
"Sweetheart-"
My eyes filled with black and grey cloth as my face pressed into his chest. Sebastian said nothing, but simply held me, one hand gently stroking my back. Grief overwhelmed me, and I keened into him.
I thought I had only lost one mentor before.
Now I had lost both.