The Magic of Old Earth

by Dress72


Meeting the Creator

He stopped running when he came across a downed bridge. Any sequence of pony spells he knew would not account for being able to move the bridge into place, and he couldn’t use earthen magic as he was focusing on his stealth spell. He stood there, contemplating why he had run. Never before had he run from a foe, not even when they were more powerful then him. So why had he run: Was he afraid? …but of what? Had he grown weak and pitiful in the thousand plus years he was trapped? No, he refused to believe that, despite the lingering doubt that hung within him. He assured himself he wouldn’t run next time he faced his creation.
With this resolve came a slap from reality: how to get over the bridge. He turned to the group he had under his control. The pegasus and gryphon together might be able to lift the bridge, but it would take some time. Thankfully, a cyan pegasus flew across the gap, adding a third winged pony to the group.
He was about to release his stealth spell to attempt to control the cyan pegasus, when three more pegasi-like beings flew down. Upon contact with the said pegasus, the three started talking to it, trying to persuade it to join them, and in consequence, not raise the bridge. Looking past four pegasi, the caster saw a group of five, representing three of the five equine races he knew.
The cyan pegasus drew his attention as it took itself away from the group of three, and, by itself, lifted the bridge and tied it off. He took a liking to this pony, mystified at its strength. He caught the three ponies dissolve and turn into a shadow that slinked into the castle. Curious as to how his presence would affect the group that the earlier pegasus returned to, and despite the risk of meeting the dark cerulean pony so soon, he dropped his Earth spell, and, when the group approached, wandered out, leaving his followers behind. He made sure to not face them directly as he wandered out, allowing them to make first contact.
“Excuse me, may I ask why you’re here?”
He turned to the group that had instantly put up their guard and felt elated by their defense. However, he kept this to himself as he answered simply, “I’m exploring my new surroundings. I woke up here not to long ago and I'm not sure where I am, but I’ve never seen something like this before." He gestured to the surrounding ruins to emphasize his statement.
He noted that the purple unicorn was the one who spoke first and continued to speak, “It’s dangerous -- there’s a very powerful and evil pony around here.”
“Is there now… Mind if I stay with your group then? I’m kind of by myself and not sure where to go.”
He found that the group accepted him almost instantly after his first declaration, despite their initial suspicions, and, with several different versions of ‘Okay’, the caster joined the group. They walked further into the decaying castle, following the path that the shadow had taken earlier. Trying, but failing, to stay near the back of the group, he felt unease as they insisted they walk with him.
It didn’t take long for him to recognize that the six ponies were all female. The purple pony, whom the caster took as the leader, introduced the group, “I am Twilight Sparkle, and this is Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash,” each pony gave their respective greetings before Twilight continued, “May we know your name?”
“I have had many names throughout my life, to many to count or recall,” came the elusive answer of the caster.
“Then tell us your original name,” came a reply from Rainbow Dash.
“My original name? Before others started naming me, I didn’t have a name. If you must, however, you can call me The Caster, one of my personal favorite names.”
“You don’t have a name? That is so sad,” Pinkie Pie declared before Twilight took back over.
“The Caster? Why are you called that?”
“Is this the place?” the caster asked. They had approached a large gateway, over 30 feet in height, covered in a pattern-less web of vines, standing between them and their goal. The caster began to chant a spell before an answer was given, “Intus ardeat ad tempus virentia, ventus erit flamma ventilat aperuerit ianuam. * Time to burn within the green, the wind will be opening the door to fan the flame. *"
A strong wind began to blow. The group watched in awe as the vegetation around them turned black and the door slowly creaked open. The vines snapped as the door inched forward, exposing a flame from within vines that quickly spread over the rest of the door. At the quarter opening of the door, the wind stopped, and the flames died instantly. The large, wooden door was completely barren of any of the previous clutter, not even a scorch mark could be found on it.
The caster forced himself not to stumble as he walked into the room, leaving the other six to catch up. Instead of finding the pony whom he had fought earlier he found a room filled with vines, moss, and a strange ornament in the center with six orbs on it. He wondered as to what the room might have been used for, as it seemed older than the rest of the abandoned palace.
He ignored the other six ponies who accompanied him, despite their attempts to try to get him to explain what just happened. He thought of something and raced back into the courtyard, once again ignoring the group. His suspicions where confirmed as he looked back at the castle, from the exact same spot that he had been raised from.
As he spied upon the castle, a light emanated briefly from the door he had opened, then reappeared once again high up within one of the towers. He started chanting a spell that would accurately teleport him, and the five sacrifices, within the tower, while not give any signs that he was there.
It took about four minutes to chant the spell. As he finished, he noted that the glorious blood moon had reverted to a regular moon. When he was transported into room, he found two new ponies, similar to the horned pegasus he had first met. One of the two was white and just as tall as the dark cerulean one he first met, the other more sapphire and slightly smaller.
“I’m sorry sister, I just wanted to meet Father,” the sapphire pony admitted. The caster realized then that the cerulean pony and this pony where the same.
“I know, sister, but Mortem the Caster is an evil pony. He controlled, raped, and killed thousands throughout the world before he disappeared,” It was the white pony who spoke this time.
“Wait, Princess Celestia, Mortem the Caster? We met a young, light blue pony who called himself The Caster. Is it possible it was the same pony?” Twilight directed the question at the pony who knew the caster’s favorite name.
The white pony, whom Mortem now knew as Celestia, widened her eyes in terror, “He is back?! Twilight, take your friends back to Ponyville at once. No, stay here, I need to make sure he didn’t cast anything upon any of you. I will need to alert the guard to look for him. While he is here, nopony is safe.”
“Celestia, I’m so disappointed,” Mortem called out from the shadows, his voice resonating through the room, “My own creation doesn’t like me. Well, that’s understandable. Since you know only about my actions, it only makes sense that you don’t trust me.”
“Mortem, you will pay for your crimes,” Celestia declared. The ponies in the room moved away, clearing an area subconsciously for the imminent duel.
“Oh, so you can punish those whom were before your time? Try if you can,” Mortem retorted, horn alight to cast the same spells he had when he faced the cerulean pony upon awakening. He once again chanted his fire-water spell. Instead of initially restricting it, he let it flow; an apparent wall of flame flowed up from the stair case, washing over the caster and every other pony within the room, covering them in water with submerged tendrils of flame lashing about. Thanks to his spell, Mortem was unaffected by the suffocating waters and the fire as it whipped at anything within the water.
To his amazement, he saw the group covered over in a protective barrier much like the one from his book. He also saw Celestia in a pocket of air, no barrier around her, and no flame getting to her. He could think of only one spell that could produce such a result, and this opponent seemed to be using it with pony magic.
“I will not be beaten,” Mortem shouted. Seeing Celestia cast several throw spells at him, he jumped to avoid them, landing on one of the tendrils, which responded to his conscious command, and ran towards Celestia as the tendril wrapped around him. Casting another spell as he let free the water and fire, he chanted the two words ‘celeritatem linguae,’ or ‘the speed of the tongue,’ before chanting a 70,000 word spell in under six seconds.
His long spell complete, a large, rune circle appeared behind Celestia, and a demonic hand appeared, shattering the room before it was fully pulled between realms. Water and flame quickly cascaded over the rubble as the hand was retrieved and an arm proceeded it, tripling the tower’s height with the forearm alone.
Celestia did two things as the forearm passed and the elbow started to emerge. First thing was she teleported the seven spectators of this battle, away. The second was that she called on the sun and cause a ray of light bounced off the moon that came down to engulf the arm completely.
“You shouldn’t get distracted Celestia!” Mortem shouted, now only a few feet from her. Celestia turned just in time to get hit in the right temple with a flame covered hoof. The flame started to uncoil from the owner and wrapped itself around Celestia’s muzzle and neck, scorching the pony, and leaving a trail of flame that connected the two battlers.
The light from the blast started to fade as the onslaught of the arm stopped. Celestia somehow managed to break away from the caster but was slightly dismayed that the only thing one of her more powerful spells could do was stop the demon from being summoned further. The arm swung down and grabbed the pony who shot it.
“I’m surprised. Nopony has ever been able to stop one of my summons before. But it wasn't enough; you are already mine,” came the taunt from the caster.
Light started to fade and upon inspection, the moon was waning until it reached a tiny sliver. For just a moment, it completely disappeared before a single flash, only 20 feet above Mortem, shone. The caster jumped back as a scythe's head came down at tremendous speeds, nearly slicing him in two.
“Father, you seem to acknowledge my sister yet you completely ignore me. Face me and see me as you her."