Descent
Twilight woke from her unrestful slumber to the glare of sunlight coming from her window. Her eyes opened slowly and she got out of bed. She stood there for a moment trying to remember what happened the night before. Her head was throbbing with a headache. She rubbed her temple with a hoof and proceeded to go back to her study. She did not wish to eat after such a long night. She made her way down to her study careful to avoid her assistant. She closed and locked the door behind her. She picked up the journal again and sat in her chair and opened it to where she had left off.
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After we made the well, it was time to find a beast or pony to experiment with. We searched the Everfree Forest for a creature suitable for our experiment. After a few hours of scanning the forest we found a cave and inside was a fairly large bear. We agreed it would be the next subject for the experiments.
After capturing the bear we put it inside a cell and began to prepare the room for the procedure. As we prepped, one of our researchers discovered that in order for the experiment to work we needed first submerge the subject into the well as this would help its body withstand the amount of strain that would be inflicted. We would also need to keep it submerged from the neck down and cast the spell at the well. In light of this new information we had to make a cage or something strong enough to hold a bear. After many hours we were able to construct one. With much strife we coaxed the bear into the cage and much to our displeasure we had to use force.
With everything ready to be used we proceeded with the experiment. We submerged the bear, and then brought its head out of the water so it could breath. With the bear now prepped for the receiving of the spell, we cast the spell together. The room began to glow sickly red and the bear roared and flailed. We almost lost concentration because of its struggling. Our bodies were straining from the pressure of the prolonged cast. After what seemed like a long time we were finally able to stop casting the spell. We took the bear out of the well and released it from its cage. It only stood there silent, only breathing quietly as we watched. My second in command issued an order for the bear to go to its cell. It stood there motionless. We believed that we had failed. Then it began to move to its cell. The bear stopped and stood in its cell. We had succeeded in the experiment. As time went on we continued to study the amplified effects of the spell. We noticed that after a week of being under the spell, the bear began to act strangely. It would pace back and force with its head twitching and bobbing up and down.
A few days passed and the creature would no longer follow orders. It had been under the spell nonstop for two weeks now. We dared not release it from its cell. As we observed, the bear began to roar and swipe at the wall as if something was there. Then it did something completely unexpected. It began to bark like a dog. We could not believe it. The spell had mixed up the creature's mind to the point that it had completely redone its internal wiring. The bear's mind was now that of a dog. After a small margin of time it then proceeded to charge the wall. It continuously rammed its head into the wall over and over again, causing its head to crush under the force. It died after about three hits to its head. My research team and I were now concerned with the effects it would have on an adult pony be them stallion or mare. Yet were scientists first and foremost, concerns about the well-being of test subjects was beneath us.
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“I can feel her slipping ever closer to me. She is the key to my release.”a rumbling voice said observing the purple unicorn from its hiding place in the dancing shadows cast by the candle light. Twilight continued to read as a dark being observed her and her dwindling state of mind. "She is losing the gamble. My influence is consuming her.”
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We were stuck. We had no test subject and we were all too afraid to volunteer. For once we were at a loss as to what to do, until somepony spoke up. That pony was Draco Alterian, my second in command and also one of my closest friends. He decided that he would be the final test subject. I wanted to protest but I could not. In the pursuit of science, sacrifices have to be made. With the decision pertaining to the test subject made, we continued the research into how to go about performing such a delicate procedure.
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“She is nearing her limit; it’s so close I can taste it. Her mind, her knowledge of magic; It’s almost mine! It is now time to begin the final preparations." the creature declared.
Twilight’s mental state was deteriorating at an exponential rate at this point in her reading of Orion’s journal. The words not the cause, but the presence she had sensed earlier. The aura was draining her of her will, his influence ever growing.
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It took a matter of months to complete the research required of us to figure out the proper procedure. Upon its completion we noticed a small list of items necessary to make the procedure not only operate smoothly but to amplify the power of the spell to its utmost limit. Among the items needed was one dragon scale, a manticore tooth, a timber wolf brain, a magic cloak and the horn of a unicorn. The first and last items being the most difficult to acquire.
We gathered most of the items on the list; the dragon scale and unicorn’s horn set us back far longer than we had hoped. With the items gathered we began. We put Draco in the cloak, and dropped the rest into the well as was instructed. Draco stepped into the cage and we submerged him and then allowed his head to remain above water. We gathered around the well and the procedure began.
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“Only a little more, she’s almost there. Come now Twilight, let me take you. So long I have waited for this moment.”
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The procedure was working; the spell was being amplified nearly ten thousand fold! The elements all working together to amplify the spell to its near maximum! Then, an explosion of red light had washed over us, the procedure yielded a result we never could have predicted. We created something.
Final Chapter
Release