Chapter 15: The End?
Light.
Bright, almost painful light.
That was the first thing that Midnight Star saw upon finding himself in the waking world once again. The first thing he noticed was the fact that he wasn't laying in a field, but in the medical ward of Dawn Shield HQ.
“Welcome back, Colonel Star,” said a voice to his right. He turned toward the unfamiliar doctor. “I'm Doctor Doughnut.”
“Doctor Doughnut?”
“My parents were bakers. Anyway, the others should be waking up soon. You were exposed to an unknown, malevolent magic and had to be kept under for a week until we could clear it. Thankfully, you're all clean now. The only injuries that remain are Captain Applebloom's broken jaw, and Miss Heartstring’s burns. Honestly, Miss Heartstrings is lucky to be alive. She was touch and go for the first day. Lieutenant Colonel Applejack and Captain Scootaloo are already awake.”
Midnight slowly sat up, with a little assistance from the doctor who lifted the head of the bed. Taking a look around, he saw AJ and Scoots, sitting up similarly.
“Mornin'.”
“Welcome back.”
The rest were still unconscious, but most stirred, ready to come out of it.
“How are you two feeling?” he asked, receiving assurances from both before turning back to the doctor. “Where's Aurora?”
The weight in his chest practically vanished at the warm smile the doctor adopted. “She's in perfect health, though her tests show a similarly alien, though non-toxic, magic was channeled through her, it doesn't seem to have caused any damage or long term effects. We're still trying to identify it, but it's... Well, you should talk to the researchers about that. She's been staying with the Cakes. At the moment, she's in school.”
“So, what was that thing, anyway?” Applejack asked.
Midnight thought for a second before replying. “Let's wait until everyone is awake. Until then, why don't you tell me what happened on your side after we went through the gate.”
As AJ recounted the story, the others awoke one by one. The story stopped at the appearance of the strange beast when Rainbow awoke. Seeing Scootaloo, alive and well, she leaped from her bed, wires popping loose, and glomped the filly. Tears streamed down her face as she tried to speak her relief at seeing her alive, though it came out as incoherent blaber.
“So, Rainbow,” Rarity said after a while, getting the pegasus' attention. “What exactly was that you did?”
Rainbow adopted a thoughtful expression. “I don't know.”
“She summoned,” Jacob answered. “Those Elements of yours... I can't explain it, but I think they reacted to your runes and changed them into seals.”
“Wait, seals? Like Midnight's and yours?” asked Rarity. “I thought only humans could use them.”
“That's because we only know how to bind them to humans,” Jacob replied.
“That’s why we couldn’t use our magic,” Sweetie observed. “Runes just need channeling, but seals need one to focus on the rune sets themselves. That also means we’ll need training.”
Jacob laughed. “You really are the smart one, you know.”
“But Rainbow ain’t learn how to summon anythin’,” Applejack pointed out.
“But, I didn't do anything,” Rainbow said, finally able to get her emotions under control. “I just remember... pain. I-I thought I lost Scoots.”
“And Quetzalcoatl felt your pain. He's the most familial of Mina's sons, and thus patron god of parents and family guardians,” Jacob explained.
“Ketchup-who-now?” Pinkie asked, tilting her head to the side.
“Quetzalcoatl, second son of the goddess Mina and primary spirit of air. You see, seals are a conduit to the powers of the primal spirits. They le-”
“Wait!” Twilight hollered, stopping his explanation. “Where's a notepad and quill? Hurry!”
The doctor chuckled and opened a drawer, levitating the writing materials to the eager scholar.
“You ready now?” Jacob asked with a smirk, receiving a vigorous nod in return. “Good. Anyway, they lend mortals there powers because, according to the holy texts, Mina decreed that man was to be the masters of the world, and thus should be given power over it.”
“Why would she do somethin' like that?” Applejack asked.
“Hey, you don't question the Goddess,” Jacob said, a little upset. “Anyway, There are times – rare though they may be – that these spirits feel the need to intervene personally. This is called a summoning. The caster's body is used as a vessel for the spirit to enter the mortal realm. Now, even the weakest spirit is far superior to any mortal, but the one Rainbow summoned was as far from the weakest.
“Mina had four children; the divine dragons. Each governs one of the elemental seals.”
“But, I thought dragons from your world were savage beasts?” Sweetie pointed out.
“Yes, but the divine dragons aren't really a part of Determis,” Jacob clarified. “They're demigods, and thus are a part of Mina's realm.”
“That would explain how they would have influence here,” Twilight offered.
“Exactly,” Jacob replied with a smile. “Mina's realm lies between realms. By definition, Mina isn't a true god. A god is a creator, where Mina didn't create anything. In truth, she's just an incredibly powerful spirit that has taken us under her wing, so to speak.”
“So, if the seals are her domain, and our Elements gave us seals, does that mean the Elements work through her?” Twilight's question caused everyone to stop and think... Everyone but one.
“No,” Scootaloo said with certainty. “The magic is too different. Seal magic, all of it, is like a wild fire. It's powerful, but chaotic. The Elements, though, are more like water; the Elements of Harmony are like a soft flowing stream while the Elements of Order are like a tidal wave. They aren't the same.”
“Huh,” Jacob huffed. “Well, there goes my theory.”
“Well, hey. We can figure it out later,” Applejack said. “Now, you mind tellin' us what in the hay that thing that attacked us was?”
“That was Nag-Ta,” Midnight said quietly. The others gasped, eyes wide.
“Y-you mean that was...” Fluttershy squeaked. “Oh my, he really was scary... But... But he's gone now, right?”
“Yeah,” Midnight replied.
“Oh yeah!” Rainbow cheered. “Way to kick his but and avenge your wife and kid! It's like something out of an awesome story!”
“I didn't do it,” Midnight admitted. “He was too much for me. Aurora defeated him.”
Silence permeated the room as his words failed to make sense to anyone else.
Twilight was the first to find her voice again. “Aurora... As in, our four year old daughter? She defeated a demon that knocked almost all of us out with a single wave of his hand?”
“I don't know how to explain it, but she did... something. It felt almost like a summoning, but it was still her.”
Twilight closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “I need to see her,” she said with finality. The unicorn's horn lit up, removing the wires on her chest.
The doctor rushed over, blocking her path. “Please Mrs Star. We still aren't certain the dark magic won't have any lasting effects.”
The glare Twilight gave him rivaled anything Fluttershy could have done. “My little girl could have been killed by a demon. Instead, something weird happened that for all we know could be just as bad. Do you really want to stand between me and her?”
The doctor shrank away quickly, paling. He was still shaking even after the mare left.
“Not the smartest move, doc,” Rainbow said.
“E-excuse me,” he stuttered and ran out of the room.
“Wow,” Lyra said, eyes wide. “Is she always that scary?”
“Only when Aurora's involved,” Midnight said with a smirk. “Oh, by the way, Lyra. Thanks for the help. It was stupid and could have killed you, but you helped save my daughter. I owe you.”
“Really,” Lyra hummed, thoughtfully. “You wouldn't have happened to come across a unicorn that uses chaos magic, have you?”
“Uh... no, why?” Midnight asked, caught a little off guard by the sudden topic change.
“They let me join you guys until I find him,” the minty unicorn said.
Midnight narrowed his eyes slightly. “Why are you looking for this guy?”
“Well, technically, I haven't been. I've only been preparing to.” Lyra took a deep breath. “You know our moms and dad disappeared, right?”
Midnight nodded his head. He had heard the story. It had apparently hit the town hard. Ten years ago, they vanished on their way to Las Pegasus, along with everypony on the train. They were loved and respected by the whole town. Lyra's mom was a very talented unicorn painter. Bonbon's mom, a pegasus dancer known for her grace despite being afflicted with the same disability as Scootaloo and Blue. Their father was an earth pony baker that could rival the Cakes.
“There was too much chaos magic in the area, so they couldn't get a positive ID, but they got a vague image of a light brown unicorn in a blue robe. I swore I'd track him down and find out what he did to my parents.”
“Sounds a bit like a comic book, doesn’t it?” Sweetie asked.
“Yeah, it does, but the guard stopped the investigation. If this guy’s going to be brought down, it’ll be by me,” Lyra answered.
Midnight thought for a moment before saying, “Alright. We'll see what you got in a few days. For now, I think we all earned a rest. No more talk about bad things for the rest of the day, that's an order.”
An order everypony was more than willing to follow
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The smell of rotting flesh overpowered the scent of dark magic in the air as scavengers finally began to move in. The toxic air made retrieving the bodies of the deceased difficult, so they were cremated where they fell, unicorns casting fire from a distance. It was sloppy, though, and left a few bodies.
One of the scavengers, a lone coyote, ventured deeper into the corruption than the others. He wasn't braver than the rest, just more desperate. With manticores and hydras around, the small canine didn't stand a chance. It paid off, however, as he found a particularly meaty forearm and hand. His stomach rumbling, he ignored the strange red-orange hue and the smell of taint. One cautious bite and then he tore into it, eyes rolling back into his head at what was the most amazing meat he had ever eaten.
Minutes later and the coyote was licking the bone clean. Suddenly, he collapsed, howling in pain. His paws wrapped around his gut, the source of his torment. His pupils shrank to pinpricks as he watched the dark aura that permeated the clearing condense. His stomach was quickly forgotten as the haze engulfed him. He twisted, rolled, and scratched at the evil, trying to fight it.
Some of the other animals watched as the coyote disappeared beneath an unnatural fog. One last howl issued forth before the cloud pulled itself into the poor creature. Silence fell as what few animals remained watched the unmoving form. Then, a sound that no coyote could make echoed from the fallen scavenger.
Laughter.