//------------------------------// // 13. Enter the Decageas // Story: The Life and Times of Caughlin Mare // by Casca //------------------------------// The next thing she knew, Caughlin found herself surrounded by R&D ponies, clamoring around the bed. Her room had never been this full before, and it was suffocating - a weird experience, since, trapped as they were, they had learned to make do with the space they had. And this was much less. Their shadows fell across her sight, and her lungs strained to filter the little oxygen left. "I feel faint," groaned Caughlin. "Everypony, go away." That killed the noise. In seconds flat a radius of blessed space had materialized around her, walled by worried looks and dull-coated bodies. She swallowed hard and choked as her dry throat burned. She reached out hastily to her bedside table - thankfully the bottle of water she kept there was present, and she took a drink. "Uh, just kidding? No, seriously, I'm okay now." She put on a smile. Her jaw hurt for some reason. "Come on, nothing more to see. I'll be out in a bit once I get my bearings." Neither Furhich nor Whooves were there in the crowd. She couldn't think like this; she needed to recollect herself. With an insistent wave, she watched as her team shuffled out, the two alicorns lingering behind. Luna blinked a few times. "Fine, you two can stay," relented Caughlin, reaching out to hug them both. As she let herself get sucked into the embrace, holding back the urge to scratch as two heads full of mane rustled against her cheeks, she noticed that Celestia was actually taller than Luna. Her legs were longer, and so was her pink mane. She had surpassed Caughlin's own height a long time ago, she knew - tall and proud for a while now - but since when had she outgrown her older sister? Of course, reasoned her brain, the modifications in her planning. Bluntly put, the younger one was designed to be an improvement of the older. They were in direct competition, even if neither of them knew. She wondered whether Luna resented the fact that Celestia was learning so much quicker than herself; she did not know of the Accelerat, at least, nor of "sibling rivalry". Few foals managed to have siblings in the overworld. "So. How long have I been out for?" "A week and three days," said Celestia. "Nothing much has happened since then." "Celly had a fight with Furhich," said Luna gleefully. "We had promised never to speak of that again!" snarled Celestia, but Caughlin waved it off. "Go on. What's all this about a fight?" "Celly wanted to stay and wait for you to get better after you blacked out," said Luna quickly, despite Celestia's attempts to push her out of the way cheek-first. "But her time to go back up came, and she wouldn't go with them. There was a big argument but Celly finally won." Caughlin thought she could hear Celestia mutter the word "tattle-tale" as she gave Luna a final shove and knocked her down. Luna got back up all too soon and gave Celestia a hard poke in the chest. "Oi, oi, stop it," said Caughlin, telekinetically grabbing hold of the nearest book and sending it down between them - the book fell too fast and ended up rapping them both on the head. "Oops. So you mean Celestia's been down here all this while?" "Yeah," repleid Celestia, shooting dirty glares at Luna. "We were the only ones watching over you because the other Order ponies had to complete the work. Furhich said it was urgent, so he gave us the task." There was a tinge of pride in her voice. "We wanted to ask Whooves, since, y'know... he's, er, free, but he's been acting all weird. You were..." She bit her lip. "You were flailing around and screaming when whatever it was went wrong in the director's circle for several minutes. But nobody could break in because of the runes." "She tried to," said Luna. "Shut up!" "Whooves, you were saying," said Caughlin, frowning. "Well, I caught him looking mortified. He was whispering to himself, 'It's all my fault'. Which I found weird. Ah, and he was frightfully pale. Bluebell and a few of the other mares said that Whooves likes you really, really much, and your spell backfire caused him to fall into depression." Celestia dodged Caughlin's gaze with odd embarrassment. "He's cooped up in his room, eats little and doesn't talk. I hope somepony's told him you're back, I think he could do with cheering up." Right. Whooves. She closed her eyes and felt her head throb. Right. He... he voted against me.. He had blown their only opportunity, and she had suffered because of it. She bit her lip. Of course there would be explanations. Whooves had to have a reason for ruining their plan... whatever those reasons could possibly be. But was she in the mood to hear them? "Umm... Mother, can you get up?" asked Celestia, breaking the silence. "I don't see why not." Caughlin gave her legs an experimental stretch. Somehow, it seemed a bit heavier, as if there were... more of her legs... Pins and needles ripped up her veins and she gasped as her legs retracted like springs. Before she could give them a proper, careful easing, a strange warmth filled her stomach, and a strength that had not been there before flowed into her four limbs, clearing the pain. She cautiously stuck out a leg, then two. They peeked out under the sheets. Something, somehow, was off... She hit the floor next on fours, blankets and neatness abandoned, and realized what was wrong. "Woah," she muttered, testing a few steps forward. "Woah?" asked Celestia. "I was happy with my old height," she said, grinning wryly. She turned around and looked at her table, her bed, her foals. She had grown a couple of inches taller. Not much, but enough to make everything seem newer. Luna beamed and stretched out her wings. "Ooh, ooh, can you fly?" That's right, I have these... Anticipation danced across her nerves. For a while, Caughlin daydreamed about soaring in the sky with her foals, imagining the sensation of flight and doing tricks as she watched them practice flight. There was no romance in teleportation, but to feel the air through one's feathers, to harness the currents and tides of the great winds would be a real treat. She tried stretching her wings, and gave a couple of feeble flaps. She focused and closed her eyes, holding her breath - "shut off your senses", just like Bluebell had said when Luna first took to flying lessons. Gradually she discovered the minute currents of air flowing around her - tiny breezes dancing across her wingspan. With every movement, step, even speech, the air changed. It was amazing. She tried to catch the upswings around her to fuel at least a bounce upward, but it was literally grasping for the wind. Caughlin shook her head. "No. Not yet." "We could teach you," grinned Luna. "One hour a day after magic lessons. You have to, Mommy, and then we can fly together!" Luna gave a twirl mid-air to accentuate the point. "You almost never want to walk again." "We'll see about that," said Caughlin, giving her a quick nuzzle. She turned and magicked a full-sized mirror before her, examining herself from different angles. She was still gray, and her eyes were still yellow. Her body was simply that of an alicorn, winged and taller, imbued with greater magic... A knock at her door broke her muse, followed by: "Caughlin? Caughlin, it's me, Whooves." It was thin, both desperate and relieved at the same time. It reminded her a little of when they had first met. Timid. "I know everything seems wrong, and I was a bloody idiot for doing what I did, but you have to let me explain-" The sound of splitting, crashing rock drowned him out. An enraged bellow burst forth. "Caughlin Mare, show yourself this instant!" roared Discord, as a bolt crackled and demolished the wall of her room, allowing light from the main hall to flood in. She didn't even have time to feel as she took in the clear path between himself and her, paved with rubble and smoke. A talon stretched out and grabbed her, dragging her out into the main hall. Her eyes stung, her heart leaped as she finally realized: It's Discord- The lighting was flaring brightly with the overcharge of magic in the air, and she could see wreckage everywhere. Tables were smashed, papers and equipment lay scattered and destroyed, and there were glass shards all over the floor. Ponies were either unconscious or running for cover. She could not see Furhich as Discord lifted her up face-to-face. "You're an alicorn," he hissed, sounding more surprised than angry. He paused and examined her, pulling hard on one of her wings, making her yelp. "You're an alicorn yourself. My word, I've never seen anything like it. Look at your essence and thaumical field, it's a downright mess - so the spy was telling the truth after all, as ridiculous as it sounded." Spy? What the hay is going on here? She could feel a scream building up in her chest, but fright had left her numb and immobile. This was the first time he had handled her with force, and common sense told her that anypony who received such treatment did not last for long. She could not even think; all she could do was stare into those evil, yellow eyes. "You've been naughty, Caughlin. You've been running experiments behind my back," continued Discord, the displeasure creeping back into his voice. He looked up. "And what is this we have over here? A second alicorn, but this one's white. How...boring. What's your name? Not that I care, but it adds personality to that extra stain I'll be getting on my hide." She strained to turn, and managed to see the two sisters staring in horror at the scene, yet walking up to them... "Run!" choked Caughlin. "Run, now!" "Oh, be quiet, and let me have some fun," said Discord. He flung her to one side as if she were a doll, and she hit the ground hard. "Since I'm going to utterly destroy all of you, I might as well enjoy the last moments of chaos I can glean from this place. You were wrong to defy me, Caughlin! Aiding the rebels? Making alicorns? What do you think you could possibly achieve?" "Celestia, now is the time!" shouted a third voice. Caughlin picked herself up and saw Furhich, standing at the far end of the den behind a pile of boxes. "This is what you've been training for! Go!" "Wait, no! Furhich, what are you trying to do? We have to run!" yelled Caughlin, but she was largely ignored. Celestia's face steeled with anger and she held her ground. "Were you going to kill Mother?" seethed Celestia. "Is that even a question?" sneered Discord. "Of course! Not just her, but you and everypony here will die, not a matter of 'will', but 'how.'" "Stay out of this, Celestia!" screamed Caughlin. Her blood was pumping, and her senses were becoming sharp from the adrenaline rush. She concentrated her energy and fired a raw blast at him. The spell glanced off his scales and exploded in a corner of the ceiling. "Your fight is with me, Discord! Leave them out of it!" "Oh, you silly little things. So that makes, you, the white one, that noisy one hiding behind and you, the first alicorn. Very well. Four on one. This should be fun." Discord snapped his fingers and cackled as blackness began to swirl around him. Caughlin suddenly felt cold as the void expanded rapidly, engulfing the entire den. She closed her eyes and braced herself. She felt a chill pass over her, but that was all. "Open your eyes, chairpony Caughlin. Nothing to fear except your certain death." They were in empty space. There was nothing around them, just endless black. They immediately locked their sights on Discord, watching him warily. The Draconequus took long glares at each of them and yawned mockingly. "So, you want a fight? You're going to get one." He flickered forward and grabbed Caughlin, taking to the skies above. Celestia gave a shout, and the two alicorns broke into flight to give chase. She grit her teeth as the winds chopped up around her. I'm hurtling into the air, carried by the most powerful being in all of Equestria. He is definitely going to kill me. What do I do? Plan number 1. Of course. Caughlin felt an insane grin grip her face as she took a deep breath. This might just work - no, this is very likely to work! She reached within her, and from the depths of her magic she grasped for the one spell that came naturally to her. It made sense, after all - its property was to reverse the effect of Discordian influence on reality. It was the bane of chaos itself, and her enemy was the very embodiment of this. She felt her horn power up with magic, and yet somehow it felt... hollow? Nothing happened. She tried again. My reality bubble. It's gone. I can't use it anymore? "Get back here, Discord!" shouted Celestia, wings flapping furiously in pursuit. "Give us our Mother back, and fight us properly!" Wait, that can't be right. That's my talent, isn't it? And it has to work against Discord, there's no reason why it wouldn't- "You can have her," said Discord, and stopped abruptly, flinging Caughlin downwards. That scream finally burst through as gravity gripped her. She had never been up any higher than the director's stand in the span of her life, but now, now that she was actually falling... She felt the pressure build up in her ears as Furhich's helpless figure on the ground grew closer and closer. Suddenly she stopped mid-air, yielding a small pop in her neck, yanked back by a force. She was surrounded with a dark blue aura, which she recognized as levitation magic. "Good job, Luna," came Celestia's distant voice. "I'll handle Discord! You get her and Uncle Furhich somewhere safe!" "Sister, no! I'm coming after you!" pleaded Luna, but her cries were washed under the subsequent series of explosions. Caughlin got to her hooves, only to stumble as Luna landed unsteadily. "Mommy, are you okay? Are you hurt?" Caughlin turned away and gagged uncomfortably. Her insides felt like they had been turned inside out. At least her stomach was empty. She was actually hungry - but if there was ever a more inappropriate time to think about it, it would be now. "I'm... fine," said Caughlin. "You need to help Celly. She can't do it on her own." "But she told me to take you somewhere-" "Where else is there?" asked Caughlin desperately. She slumped to the ground, not even bothering to stay upright. Once she recovered from her dizziness, she had to find some way to help. Even if she couldn't fly nor attack. "Discord took us to a new area. This is... ugh... probably a closed control sample, something like an alternate segment of time-space," she said, thinking aloud. "It can't be anything else. So if it is a pocket, he needs to maintain it, or else it will collapse. We were yanked out of our original segment - the Laboratory - most possibly via physical shift, since we're not ethereal." Her stomach growled. "That means there's a gap in our segment, and therefore a tendency for us to return to fill that gap..." "So we defeat him and then we can go home?" asked Luna, trying to follow. "We most probably will go home. And we only have to weaken him, so that he doesn't have the energy to sustain this place." Caughlin looked up above, where their spells flashed and clashed in sparks of light. "Think of it like magnets. Two are stuck together. You pull one apart slightly. If you let go, then the magnet will return. It's basically like that. We're banking on physics pulling us back to where we belong." Any sight of either Celestia or Discord was gone; they were simply blurs amongst a fireworks display now, flying and maneuvering faster than anything she had seen before. Spells of spectral colours lit up the black above, trailing paths of excess magic and imploding in spheres of light. It was the first time too, Caughlin realized, that she had seen a magic battle before, one that lasted so long against Discord no less. For all Discord's bragging, he had never shown anything like it to them - certainly more favourable than the alternative. Judging from the dominance of colour and sizes, however, Caughlin could tell that one side was favouring well above the other, and it wasn't theirs. There had been several near misses. She did not want to stay around to watch one finally hit. They needed a guaranteed win. "I have an idea. Luna, cover Celestia and get her down here. We need to be on the ground before Discord reaches us. Furhich," she said, turning now to the stallion as Luna took off, "I need your help. I know you're a powerful unicorn, and I can't do this alone." "What do you have in mind?" he asked, his voice infuriatingly calm. Caughlin gave him a wry smile. "The four of us going to set up a decageas. And you and I, we're going to be erecting the magnifying hex." "But our magic is incompatible," he frowned. "Are you sure it will hold?" "Shut up and just do it for Equestria," snapped Caughlin. She lowered her horn and drew from the essence inside of her. A hex is three pairs of two...but can it be two sets of three? "I'll do a set of three magic threads, and you do the other set. Two and three make six. You can handle three threads. You're not a weak unicorn." Each of those memory hexes is one. "That's what I expect from you. Got it?" Furhich made an apprehensive snort but complied, the sound of his horn flaring up and joining hers. As a unicorn, she had an idea of what spells were shaped like if they were physical; it was just a unicorn thing. Her mind's eye, as she liked to think of it. As an alicorn, this sense was heightened, and she could almost imagine the structure of Furhich's pairs as if it was a jigsaw puzzle, glowing vibrant golden. In her mind's eye, the hex was a regular hexagon with a hollow centre, and each of them had one half. She struggled to establish a balance within her own trio of threads, and molded it at the edges until it fit with Furhich's. Once their sets matched, she toned her energy output to reach a balance with the unicorn's lower power level, lastly enveloping the entire setup with her own magic. "Wait, what are you doing?" choked Furhich. "Alicorn magic carries alicorn magic. The hex will breach on your side when the main spell passes through due to difference in sustainable pressure, unless I layer it with my own magic. Think of it as... as a flute, half made of paper and half of plastic. You're the paper. It needs a patch-up, or else when we blow through it it'll burst. It's not the best, but it's better than nothing." "Mother, what are you planning?" asked Celestia, landing wearily with Luna. Eyes still shut and full of glow, Caughlin could only hear her gasping for air, smell the smoke off her. Her heart tightened. "I need you two to charge up the largest spell possible. Just like in the testing chamber. Fire it through the hex when you see Discord. Now!" They did not say another word as they nodded, and brought their own energies together. Mere moments later, the spell was fired - the roar of magic fire was deafening - and Caughlin felt the hex bulge under the strain. She pressed down on her half of the hex, containing the blast and forcing it through the mechanism. There was a loud shriek as the charged spell erupted from the hex, shooting upwards in a blinding beam of light, so hot that she felt her closed eyelids burn. The burden finally lightened, and she tumbled to the ground, exhausted, looking up. It was not a pretty sight. The sisters had timed their shot well; Discord had taken the spell head-on. The disruptive effect of a destruction spell on his being was nothing she could have imagined. He was collapsed right next to her, his facial features a mess, looking like melted ice-cream. His scales, fur, feathers were blurring into each other, trying to maintain individual form like crystallizing salt, only to disintegrate. She could not bear to look at the rest of him, and turned her gaze away. She felt a queer feeling in the pit of her stomach as he tried to pick himself up. "Looks like we're going home," she said, as the laws of reality kicked in and pulled them back into the Laboratory. The process was more painful than expected; instead of a tempered ushering by a creature completely in control of the shift, they were now being recalled by the unfeeling forces of tapestry physics. The pony-shaped holes in the flow of everything needed filling fast, and fast it was filled. She was simply thankful that they managed to make it back on the floor of the Laboratory in one piece... well, one piece sans their last meal, as the stench of acid filled her snout. A fleck of dust tickled her face. She tried to reach for it, but keeping the hex up had taken more out of her than thought - she could not move her limbs at all. "...that's it. It's over," she sighed. A mirthless laugh rang out from behind her. It's all over. This can't be happening. "That was surprising, I have to say. That actually hurt. And you confuse me, so, so much now." She heard exaggerated patting and dusting coming from Discord's direction. My body can't move. Why not? Get up, Caughlin, get up now! For the third time that day, she felt the talons grip her sides, digging cruelly into her ribs. "Oh, Caughlin, I knew you were intelligent, but to come up with such a setup and plan in such short notice? That was an impressive show indeed." He dangled her at arm's length as if she were a piece of trash, and looked at her critically. She watched as Discord's face, a pool of melted wax, slowly rearranged itself into its original form. "Your energy pool is sadly limited though. Using such a higher form of magic - learning it solely on the power of desperation - must have drained you dry. Neither have you tapped into the full potential of your newly-acquired triune nature, since you haven't even had the time to get it sorted out, I see." The sounds of groaning and a lot of scrabbling drifted from behind. Discord spun slowly to see the alicorns struggling to stand up, staring at him with glares that wished death as sincerely as possible. "You two," he continued, "are more boring than I thought. Stay put until I'm done gloating and rubbing my victory into your overpowered but inadequate snouts." With a swipe of his paw, the two collapsed as thick stakes shot out of thin air and pinned themselves into their backs. There were squelches and cracks. Caughlin tried to scream, but her throat had long failed. She tried to muster up a spell, any spell that would hurt, would annihilate, but she lacked the strength. She was at her limits. That was the simple truth. And now they were really going to die. "Trigger two-oh-five. Accelerat," whispered Furhich's trembling voice from further behind. It was the only sound in the now-silent facility. Everypony who was still alive heard it loud and clear. Light burst forth from Celestia's eyes and mane. She whimpered as the stakes dissolved in the burst of magic. Both Discord and Caughlin watched, dumbstruck as her wounds closed up. Her thinned mane grew back to its old, flowing state, and she grew strong as she hoisted herself upright. Her horn flared up once more, filled with fresh magic. With a roar charged with murder, Celestia charged forward and slammed into Discord, catching him squarely on the chest. He gripped Caughlin tighter as another pulse of light burst forth from her horn, ripping away a chunk of his front that painted the ground red. Bathed in her aura of power, Celestia began jabbing him with her horn, pushing forward inch by inch, each stab accompanied with uncontrolled blasts that barely missed until she had pushed him up against a wall. Despite suffering partial blindness by the brilliance, Caughlin could make out in the corner of her sight something she thought she would never see. Discord was scared. The wideness of his eyes and his careless dodges, whipping her about with it, told her that much. Whatever Furhich had done, it had given Celestia even more power, and the supreme ruler of Equestria had never seen anything like it before. Something was genuinely threatening his safety. His claws began to shake as he swung her up and held her between them. Caughlin found herself staring into pure white, and shut her eyes in pain. Celestia gave a startled grunt. "What are you waiting for? Finish him off!" shouted Furhich. "Go, Celestia! Take revenge for your family, your sister, your mother! Deliver the final blow!" "I have your precious mommy," wheezed Discord. "You may have got one over me, but there's enough in me to take her out, and then we'll see who gets the last laugh. Do you want proof?" "No," breathed Caughlin, trembling. "Whatever you're doing, no..." "Watch this, Celestia." He flipped her over so that her belly was exposed, and passed his paw slowly across it. Caughlin squirmed and grimaced as she felt her characteristics entwine and topple against each other within her being. It was unlike anything; it was like her guts were knotting themselves. She felt the strands of her soul twinge and strain. Her body had become numb to pain, but this was new - a collapse of something within her bones and guts. Not even the numbness of her body could stop the pain. She bit her tongue hard to stop herself from showing it, tasted blood. She could not speak, but wished with all her heart that her thoughts would reach her: Just kill me. Celestia. Do it now and take both of us out. Just end this once and for all. "I..." "You don't believe me? I'm enraged right now, yes! I hate Caughlin! Do you think that it could get any worse, because I'm just getting started! I'm bloody imaginative, after all!" shouted Discord, brandishing his hostage like a ragdoll. "Step back now if you don't want your mother to suffer anymore!" "Stand your ground!" retorted Furhich. "You have him cornered! Don't listen to his lies, he's only trying to distract you!" "I am not cornered! Your mommy is just a toy to me, and I will break her! I am in control!" yelled Discord. Caughlin tensed as he made another swipe. He might as well have been tugging at her innards. As far as she was concerned, both would feel the same. I could really use a good sleep, she mused. Just let go, lose the pain, lose everything. I just need sleep, a little bit will do. I won't mind if I wake up. And yet part of her wanted to stay awake, to see Discord finally fall... There's still Celly and Luna. They're waiting for me so that we can be a family again. And there's Whooves. I... guess I forgive him. Yes, I should really forgive him before I go. She felt soft fur rub against her horn. "Eh?" she burbled. "Wait, Discord, what are you-" That's Celly's voice. Oh my. "I'll show you all, I will!" And that's Discord's. What's happening? "No, don't do it, I order you, don't-" Celly's yelling. Don't do that, it's bad manners- She was suddenly fully conscious, a sickening, crunching sound ripping through the air. It took milliseconds before it came crashing through her system, followed by the inner turmoil and agony of an unbalanced, collapsing thaumic field. In that moment of clarity, she knew. She felt her throat break as she uttered a final cry, and her eyeballs spun wildly in their sockets. The last things she heard was a cacophony of wailing, yelling and deranged laughter...