Faith bolted up the stairs, stumbling a few places over various objects cast across the staircase. ‘I pray to Celestia, I am not too late.’ She stopped before the door upstairs, it was closed and a purple glow surrounded it. ‘Part of me thinks bucking the door down is the way to go, but... No. That is magical, and probably keeping it from being touched.’
She frowned impatiently and closed her eyes, casting a simple recognition spell on the glowing door. As soon as her spell reached the door, a lash of magic snapped from it, cutting through her robes and leaving a bleeding gash on the side of her body. Faith cried out in pain and stepped back, shaking with fear. ‘I... That hurt.’ Faith took a shaky breath and sighed. She began to mumble a prayer to Celestia, her horn lighting up with a mix of blue-gold magic. The blue-gold magic poured from horn for a few moments and into the gash. She closed her eyes against the stinging pain as the spell closed the wound. As soon as she finished the prayer, the magic stopped flowing. She let a relieved sigh. ‘Now, for the door... How to go about this?’
Noise began to come from behind her. The sounds of ponies, or something moving up. She turned a spell alight on her horn, ready to blast whatever was coming up behind her.
“Whoa there, Faith! No need to turn us to dust!” Cloudchaser jokingly teased at her as him and Thunderstrike came to a stop by her. “We destroyed the pentagram, ma’am!” He beamed at her.
Thunderstrike grunted beside him. “I see that the door is closed.” He walked up to it, hammer slung over a shoulder. “Magically protected?” He glanced over and Faith with a raised eyebrow, his gruff voice calm and casual.
Faith simply nodded. “Yes, I can get it. I-I just need time.” She frowned, obviously upset that the door was keeping her from Zeal.
Cloud walked over and draped a wing over her, his boyish manners and tone gone for a brief moment. “We do not have time to try with magic, Faith. Let Thunderstrike try. No door can resist his hammer and Zeal needs us.”
Faith simply nodded and bowed her head in defeat.
Thunder grunted. “Right, stand back you two.” Her stood on his hind legs, wings flaring slightly to give him balance as he took his war hammer in a two hoofed grip. He brought the hammer down, slamming into the barrier of magic protecting it. The magical barrier lashed out, cutting into Thunder’s armor. The pony only grunted and stepped back. Not from pain, his armor had protected him, nor from caution but, to take another swing. His hammer hit the barrier letting out a boom as it connected again. The magical barrier flared this time, before lashing out violently. Cutting through Thunder’s armor and into his flesh. He let out a small grunt of pain and drew the hammer back smashing it again, and receiving another beating from the magic of the barrier.
Faith winced at every blow that fell upon Thunderstrike. ‘I have to help him...’ She took a deep breath and began to pray. Her horn lit up with a mix of blue-gold magic again, and as she continued, the flow of magic went from her horn into Thunderstrike. Healing his wounds even as they were closed and reopened.
Seconds seemed to stretch onto minutes, and minutes into hours as Faith cast her healing prayer-spell on Thunder and in turn, Thunder pounded away at the barrier. Finally, after what seemed like hours to Fatih, the barrier broke under the mighty hammer, dissipating in a backlash of magic that sent the three ponies flying back or into a wall.
Faith groaned, shaking her head. She winced at a slight pain and tasted blood in her mouth. ‘That... didn’t end well.’ She glanced around the area to look for Thunder and Cloud, finding them practically atop each other, yet covered by the door that they were pounding on just mere moments ago. She struggled to her hooves, swaying for a moment before casting a basic healing spell to stop any bleeding and walked over to her comrades. Her horn light up, and her magical grasp flung the door away. “Thunder? Cloud? You two alive?”
Thunder was the first to stir. He groaned lightly and blinked at the unconscious white pony seated on top of him. He pushed Cloud off. “Bloody door.” He tried to get to his hooves, before he yelped in pain, looking to his left wing, which was bent and obviously broken. He cursed quietly and looked to Faith. “Go help Zeal, I’ll wait here with Cloud and catch up. Not much I can do with my wing.”
“No, let me heal it, Thunder.” Faith argued, moving to place her horn on the wound and heal it properly, only to have a hoof stop her.
“No, you will need all your strength to help Zeal. If whatever it is could protect a door that well, no telling what else it can do.” Thunder moved to flex his wings only the bite his lip and grunt. He was a pony unaccustomed to any real emotion past his gruff nature.
Faith shook her head. “I am going to set it and start the healing process in the least. I am not leaving you like this.” She stated bluntly, and touched her horn to his wound before he could protest and began her prayer-spell.
Seconds seemed to stretch onto minutes, and minutes into hours as Faith cast her healing prayer-spell on Thunder and in turn, Thunder pounded away at the barrier. Finally, after what seemed like hours to Fatih, the barrier broke under the mighty hammer, dissipating in a backlash of magic that sent the three ponies flying back or into a wall.
Faith groaned, shaking her head. She winced at and tasted blood in her mouth. ‘That... didn’t end well.’ She glanced around the area to look for Thunder and Cloud, finding them practically atop each other, yet covered by the door that they were pounding on just mere moments ago. She struggled to her hooves, swaying for a moment before casting a basic healing spell to stop any bleeding and walked over to her comrades. Her horn light up, and her magical grasp flung the door away. “Thunder? Cloud? You two alive?”
Thunder was the first to stir. He groaned lightly and blinked at the unconscious white pony seated on top of him. He pushed Cloud off. “Bloody door.” He tried to get to his hooves, before he yelped in pain, looking to his left wing, which was bent and obviously broken. He cursed quietly and looked to Faith. “Go help Zeal, I’ll wait here with Cloud and catch up. Not much I can do with my wing.”
“No, let me heal it, Thunder.” Faith argued, moving to place her horn on the wound and heal it properly, only to have a hoof stop her.
“No, you will need all your strength to help Zeal. If whatever it is could protect a door that well, no telling what else it can do.” Thunder moved to flex his wings only the bite his lip and grunt. He was a pony unaccustomed to any real emotion past his gruff nature.
Faith shook her head. “I am going to set it and start the healing process in the least. I am not leaving you like this.” She stated bluntly, and touched her horn to his wound before he could protest and began her prayer-spell.
Thunder bit his lip, groaning in pain as the magic began to work on his broken wing. The bone slip back into place with a extremely painful pop, and the wound itself began to heal. He opened his mouth to protest and stop Faith from fully healing the wing, but before he knew it, it was too late.
Faith stumbled back in weariness, her body exhausted from pouring so much energy into a spell so quickly. She blinked. “T-there. N-now I have to go find Zeal.”
Thunder stood to go after here. He grabbed his mace. “I’ll come with you.”
“No, somepony has to watch Cloud till he wakes, up. Defend him well, Thunder. I am saving my friend.” Faith turned and trotted to the door, stopping before it. As she stepped inside, the door flew from its place on the floor and back onto the hinges, locking and shutting behind her.
“You... have come... to save him... There is no will... in thiss one, he is worthless to me...”
The body of Zeal slammed into the wall to the left of her, broken and pale as death.
‘No!’ Faith’s eyes went wide, running towards the broken body of Zeal. “Nonono! Zeal!” She panicked, placing her hoof on his chest and her ear near his mouth, trying to get a pulse or a breathe of air.
‘It.... is... futile... Giiiiive in.’
Faith didn’t respond or listen. Her worry was to now if Zeal was still alive. A mere moment later, though it seemed like ages to Faith, she felt a faint heartbeat, and the drawing of a bare breathe. It was all she needed for her conviction to set in. ‘He is alive, for now. This -thing- must die, and die soon.’
Faith stood back up and turned to face the demon. She narrowed her eyes. Her horn began to glow faintly with magic, the blue aura building up over her horn slowly as she spoke. “I do not have the patience to deal with you. Not to mention you hurt -my- Zeal. I’m going to rip you apart piece, by demonic piece and cast what is left back to Discord in pieces.”
The demon laughed, the sound seemed to come from the entire room. A normal pony may have been frightened or cowed away.
Faith just simply gave him a flat, bemused look. Her eyes gleamed darkly. “Please, I’m more mage then paladin. Basic voice amplification spell. Here, let me show you REAL magic.” Her horn flared as she drew up the magic from herself. A blade of pure arcane formed in front of her and flew out, a tentacle lashed defensively at it. ‘Futile.’ She thought, as the magically formed weapon cleaved through the obstacle and blinked out of existence.
The demon shrieked, this time the sound came directly from the thing itself. A few of the windows shattered from the noise. The remaining tentacles lashed out in blind pain at Faith, only to be met with a shield of blue magic.
“You are also too predictable. The bruises on Zeal’s body shows you love to just strangle people with those things.”
‘You insolent little foal I will destroy you and engorge myself with your soul so that -nothing- reaches the afterlife!’ The tentacles flailed at the shield attempting to bash the magical protection down. When that failed the demon charged it, bucking at it with his hooves. This did cause Faith to fall back, stumbling as the magical shield cracked.
However, Faith just smirked and her horn flared, the shield burst into shards of magic still solid enough to be as lethal as glass. Another spell sent the shards of her magic shield at the demon like hundreds upon hundreds of shards of glass shredding into the thing’s body. Oddly, nothing bled. Faith tilted her head. “Odd.”
The demon shrieked again in pain. It lashed out at her. Faith moved aside, barely dodging a lashing tentacle, her robe’s lower edges ripped by the appendage. She shot out a bolt of magic at the Devourer, it burned a slice of flesh from the thing. Summoning a shield in front of her, she barely stopped another assault by the tentacles.
Faith struggled under the assault this time. Her magic use was taking a toll on her body’s reserves of energy. ’I have to end this. NOW.’ She sent the shield forward, it smashed into the demon and slammed it down into the pentagram.
The demon struggled, it was extremely strong still. Her magic was barely holding it in place. She looked around the room. ‘Where is it? Where is it?!’
Next to the pentagram the faint runes of Zeal’s sword shone. Faith’s eyes went wide. ‘Yes!’ She had to be quick, she knew and she rushed forward and picked the sword up, gripping it in both hooves as she stood poised now, over the body of the demon. “In Celestia’s name and blessing, I remove thee from existence!” Her horn’s glow faded and the shield did as well, stabbing down into the demon’s skull with the sword.
The demon let out, an unnatural scream, that shouldn’t of even been possible. The demon flailed its remaining limbs and tentacles, trying to lash out in its last moments of existance. Faith twisted the blade, gritting her teeth in anger. “Just. Stop. Moving. And Die!” With a final twist of the blade the body stopped moving and began to disintegrate.
Faith released her hold on the handle and slumped to the side, panting. Excessive magic usage and the battle had drained her more than she thought it would. ‘Atleast... It is over, I hope Cloud is alright, I need to fi—’ Her train of thought ended as she laid eyes on the pony laying against the wall with his eyes closed. “Zeal!” She shouted before struggling to her hooves and clumsy running over to him.
She collapsed near him holding back tears. Faith checked his pulse, it was there, barely. She felt it getting longer between each beat of his heart. “N-no...” Her horn lit up with magic, and she hastily began to try and heal Zeal’s body, pouring even her our life’s energy directing into his body.
“C-come on! Don’t you leave me, Zeal!” She strained to hold the spell, she wasn’t accomplishing much other than healing his flesh wounds. Her horn sputtered and eventually the magic died, as her exhaustion hit her full face. She checked his pulse again, it had stopped.
“Zeal! Come back to me! I love you... Please, please, please! Don’t leave me! I need you.... Faith needs Zeal, p-p-please.” She collapsed on top of his body in a fit of tears. “Don’t die, Zeal... p-please...” She continued crying on him, till she felt a hoof on her shoulder.
“Faith.” Thunderstrike was standing behind her, and a weary and injured Cloudchaser behind him. “He... isn’t going to make it. We need to...”
“No!” She yelled out in response, refusing to acknowledge the truth. “No...”
“Faith, he is gone. We... can’t afford to waste so much time here.”
Faith chewed her lip, and wiped a few tears from her eyes. “Alright.. just... giving me a few moments alone, please?”
Thunderstrike nodded, and turned leaving the room with Cloudchaser. Faith turned back to Zeal and sniffled. “I... I’m sorry I wasn’t fast enough, Zeal...” She stood and turned to gather his sword before collecting the body. But, a hoof wrapped around her hind leg and dragged her into an embrace. She screamed in surprise.
“Don’t blame yourself.” Zeal spoke weakly, his grip wasn’t even tight, a miracle he pulled her into his hooves. “Now... lets get out of here, and get those two numbskulls. I need a nap.”
Faith bit her lip and slipped from his embrace. “As you wish, Captain.”