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// Midnight Begins: Chapter 10 
// Story: Midnight's Shadow 
// by Ponibius 
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Midnight’s Shadow


Midnight Begins: Chapter 10


I had failed.

That was the single greatest thought that ran through my mind at that moment. My entire life had been based around becoming a great magus. It had been my mother’s ambition for me, and her ambition had become mine. It was something that I knew I would become for as long as I could remember. Becoming a magus was nothing I had ever really questioned. It just was. I had spent countless hours studying, practiced my craft, spent my time as an apprentice, and learned from my mother and other masters. When my magic had come in and I had gotten my cutie mark... After my magic had reached maturity and it was seen that I had magical power equal to that of Mother, it had only reinforced my self-image that I would be a magus of renown someday. Hopefully even an archmagus if the fates were kind. That was certainly Mother’s goal for me, and something she had been scheming towards for nearly my entire life.

Utter and absolute failure did not factor into that equation.

Worst still, that failure was likely to cost the lives of so many others—ponies who were just trying to go about their simple crafts every day, aid their families, and go about their lives in relative peace. The ponies of Appleton weren’t perfect, certainly, but who was? Even Princess Celestia, for all her magnificence, had her flaws. But these ponies did not deserve the fate that had befallen them. They had not earned warlocks nesting amongst their numbers and the pain they had brought to them.

‘Twas my duty as a magus to stop such evils. While such was not my only duty, ‘twas something I had been trained and educated to do. My mother was one of, if not the most fearsome warlock hunter in all of Equestria. If I could not learn from her and succeed in my mission, with all my talent and education at my disposal, then what hope was there for me? What purpose was there to my life when the focus of my life was a lie?

Despite all my efforts, I had been fooled, diverted, and defeated at every turn. My every victory an illusion meant to keep me distracted from my real goal. I had matched my mettle with Grandmother Carrot and I had been found wanting. Defeat was a bitter brew that left a foul taste in my mouth, but what was there to be done now?

I had failed.

The ravens had grown silent since the descent of the fog. This allowed me to hear movement out beyond the fog, all hoofsteps going the same direction.

“Everypony!” Red Steel called out to them. “Heed my words! Do not go! Stop! Come here!”

If they heard her, they did not indicate it as the ponies under the hags’ thrall continued to shuffle away.

Red Steel whirled to face me. “Magus, there must be something you can do!”

“I-I cannot.” I looked away, ashamed at my own impotence. “‘Tis impossible for me to use magic through the circle. It keeps in magic as well as keeps it out. If I had time to prepare, maybe something could have been done, but ‘tis a simple construct done in a rush.”

The militia captain grabbed me by the collar of my cloak and jerked me around with it. “Ponies are going to die and you will do nothing?!”

“If I break the circle then we will likely join them,” I murmured.

“Red Steel,” Stalwart said as he put a hoof on one of her legs. His tone carried both a warning and a plea for sanity.

“Fine.” Red Steel snorted and shoved me away. I stumbled and nearly fell to the ground. “But we cannot sit here while everypony in my town is sacrificed by warlocks.”

Gale nodded. “If anything can be done, then it must. We can settle for nothing less.”

Stalwart stared out into the fog to a group of ponies, probably a family by the looks of them, walking around the circle. "Why does nopony come too close to the circle? I thought material objects could break one.”

"There are two major components to breaking a magic circle," I explained. "The first is that one needs something of the material plane to break it, and second, there needs to be a will to metaphysically break the circle. Without both, a circle will usually remain as long as it is maintained. Otherwise the very air would immediately break it."

"And the reason these ponies are not walking past the line?" Stalwart asked.

"Because their will is not their own right now." I waved out at the farmers walking past. "The warlocks have subverted their wills, and since 'tis magic driving them and magic cannot penetrate the circle..."

Stalwart nodded. "Ah, I understand now. At least we will not have to worry about some poor pony blundering into the circle and dooming us."

“What is happening out here?” Carrot Casserole asked as she exited the house. She held her son as her eyes cast about at the queer scene about her. Celery Stalk was close on her hooves and stopped on the porch with her.

My mouth worked, but I could not get them to form words. I had to swallow and take a moment to compose myself before I could speak. “The warlocks have succeeded in casting their ritual.” I waved at the fog that was only held at bay by the magic circle. “We are only kept safe by the circle.” My shoulders slumped. “‘Twas all I could do.”

“Everypony else in the village has been caught in the hags’ spell,” Gale explained. “They are all being drawn to somewhere.”

“B-but what of our other children?” Celery Stalk approached me, and flickers of confusion, anger, and anxiety crossed her face. “What about them?”

“I … do not know.” I swallowed. I had nearly forgotten about them in madness of everything else. It had been my decision to send them away with Silent Forest and Subtle Song, as well as a couple of the Carrots’ laborers. If they had all fallen victim to the fog because I had sent them away... “If t-they were c-caught out in the fog, then—”

Celery Stalk struck me across the cheek, sending me sprawling to the ground. The stars blocked my vision as the world spun. I tasted blood in my mouth as I rolled over to look up at her. She was yelling something at me, but it took a few moments for my mind to interpret her words.

“You sent them away to be safe!” Celery screamed down at me. “You said it was for the best and I trusted you! N-Now they are g-gone!”

Stalwart placed himself between us and pushed the magnate’s wife back with a strong thrust of his hoof. “That is enough.”

“I-I...” Tears welled up in her eyes. “My family. What is going to happen to my family?”

Red Steel placed a comforting hoof on Celery Stalk’s shoulder. “We will do what we can, but striking the magus will not help.” She let out a huff. “As loath as I am to say it, we have all been made the fool.”

Carrot Casserole came over. “My love, come here.” Celery Stalk rubbed her eyes as she embraced her wife. 

Gale walked over to me and helped pick me off from the ground. “Midnight, art thou well?”

“I will survive, I think.” I wiped at the corner of my mouth and felt a burning pain where I had cut the inside of my cheek. That would explain the taste of blood. Already my cheek swelled from Celery punching me, and I had to lean against Gale to keep my balance. 

The mayor stroked her wife’s mane and looked up to me to ask, “Is there anything that can be done, Magus?”

I rubbed at my face and felt so tired from the last few days. If given the option, I think I could have fallen into a bed and gone to sleep for a week. “I ... need time to think.”

Gale steered me towards the farmhouse. "Let us go into the house. I do not think we will accomplish anything more out here."

Everypony agreed with Gale's assessment, and we made our way back towards the house. Gale and Stalwart stood on opposite sides of me to help give me support to walk. Stalwart leaned in to whisper into my ear. "We need to come up with a plan quickly, milady. Otherwise everypony will lose heart. You know best how to counter black magic, so if we are to overcome this fogbank it will probably be a solution of your invention."

He was right about that. While my bodyguard and friend might have training in how to defeat warlocks, their techniques tended to focus on how best to battle them and what tactics to be wary of. (1) Sadly, their options for actually countering warlocks was fairly limited if it did not involve stabbing or bashing their skulls in. Against the power of the ritual magic fog, their choices were woefully limited.

1. Having read old Pegasopolan manuals on how to defeat warlocks, much of it consists of ambushing the target and killing them before they know they are under attack. To be fair, a successful ambush does prevent a spellcaster from using their spells or activating any number of dangerous guardians or defensive wards. Any method that allows a warlock to prepare for an attack tends to result in significant casualties.

“I know, just—” A racking cough cut me off and scattered my thoughts. Everything had been moving so quickly, and I had so little time to think about them. My sickness was not helping matters. What malady had Grandmother Carrot inflicted upon me? Knowing her, ‘twould be something potentially fatal, if she could manage the feat. The knowledge that I might be living the last of my days did nothing to lift my spirits.

Gale and Stalwart exchanged glances as I was seized by the coughing fit. My friend wrapped a wing around my back to give me additional support. "Come, let us get thee a place to sit before we talk of what must be done."

I nodded in reply, and we stepped into the house. The Carrot family had returned to the parlor, so the rest of us made our way to the kitchen. I sat at the kitchen table with a tired groan. Bracing myself on the table, I cover my face with my hooves. I needed time to regain my composure and think this damnable disaster over. Though I had only been in Appleton for a few days, it felt as though I had been trapped here for at least a month. Two trips to the Dreamscape, an exorcism, my sickness, my dislocated knee, and the rest of my exercises from the day had left me weary to my much-abused bones.

Gale touched my forehead and hissed. "Midnight, thou art running a fever."

"My thanks, Gale," I said with biting sarcasm. "I never would have figured that out on my own. Any other insightful comments thou wouldst like to add to our predicament?" I knew the words were unkind, but I felt such the wretched creature that I could not withhold them like I normally would have.

So much for regaining my composure.

Gale frowned at my reply. “I am only trying to look after thy health. There is no need to snap at me."

I took in a long calming breath. "Aye, 'tis so. My apologies."

"Apology accepted," Gale said with a nod. "Though I worry if thou dost have any more in thee for the night. I do not wish to be too frank, but thou appear’st barely capable of standing, let alone proper battle."

"A shame I do not think Grandmother Carrot will cease her evils long enough for me to recover," I grumbled.

"Aye, she will not." Red Steel played with the straps of her hammer hooves. The mob had left a variety of weapons they had pilfered from the militia armory, including the hammer hooves and warhammer she now carried. "Though if the magus is too weak, the rest of us must simply make up for it."

I rubbed at my face to try and work past my exhaustion. The idea that I was becoming a burden was not an idea that sat well with me. I was neither weak nor useless, and I was offended by Red’s assertion that I was so. ‘Twas not as though she had done any better against the hags. "The problem being how to resist her. Her magic has us trapped here, and we do not know where Grandmother Carrot is."

Stalwart rubbed at his chin. "I think the latter should be easy to figure out; all we have to do is follow the trail everypony will leave. Most likely they are all going to some central location, and the coven will probably be there."

That struck me as logical enough. Everypony that had walked by the house after the fog hit had been heading in the same direction.

Gale looked to me when she asked, "As for the fog, 'tis a mental effect, aye? I might be able to resist it, and possibly thee as well. But 'twould require much of our focus, and the others..."

I closed my eyes to think. I was a magus, not some sulking child who had been kicked down and refused to rise to the challenge again. As Gale had said, she and I had training to resist mental magics. In fact, I was reasonably certain I could resist the fog as long as I was wary—I had already been subject to its power once—and I would not have been surprised if Sergeant Stalwart had gone through the same training. 

That left Red Steel and the members of the Carrot family behind the circle; 'twas doubtful they would be able to resist the fog. The Carrots were no warriors and had not asked for this disaster to befall them, and I had a feeling that Red Steel would try and come no matter what warnings I might give.

I searched my mind for a possible solution. "There is one spell in my arsenal which I believe could resist the effects of the fog. Especially since we would all be wary." I felt like kicking myself for nearly forgetting a basic mind protection spell, but I knew many spells and remembering them all off the top of my head could be difficult.

Red Steel snorted, making no effort to conceal the anger in her words. "Then what art thou waiting for? Cast it!"

I held up a hoof to forestall her. "There is the matter of what is to happen to the mayor and her family. If we breach the circle, then they will be subject to the fog. Also, I do not think I could maintain the protection spell over too many ponies. I think three to four is all I can risk at the moment." The simple fact of the matter was that I was already getting perilously close to reaching my limits. True, my magic recovered quite quickly compared to most unicorns, but using so much magic still put a stress on my body.

“Then we need a better solution.” Red Steel said with a scowl. As much as she wished to meet the hags in battle, it seemed that she still placed great emphasis on protecting what few ponies remained safe within the magnate’s home.

Stalwart tapped his hoof on the table as he thought. “Correct me if I am wrong, milady, but could you not create another circle within the one already made? We could then break the outer circle and still leave the other safe, aye?”

“That is correct,” I said, thinking the possibility over. It showed how exhausted I was when I had not thought of such a simple solution myself.

“Aye, she could,” Gale said, though there was a hint of reservation in her tone. “Though without Midnight present to maintain it, 'twould not be nearly so difficult to breach it. Still, 'twould be better than nothing.”

“They would be defenseless if the circle were broken!” Red Steel jerked a hoof towards the living room. “‘Twould be wrong to do so.”

Gale met her eyes levelly. “And if we remain here doing nothing, the entire town will be lost.”

That is what it came down to in the end: where would we spend our limited resources? As my mother had often told me, when you try and save everypony, you often end up saving nopony. One could not be strong everywhere, or keep everything safe. One needed to prioritize and decide what was most important to defend.

I closed my eyes and said, “I think Gale has the right of it. As terrible as it will be to say, the lives of the many are greater than the few. ‘Tis more moral to put most of our efforts to saving the rest of the town, rather than just three ponies.” I opened my eyes to look at Red Steel. “Also, the second circle should last well after we depart, and the good news is that the magic behind the fog will weaken over time. A ritual that covers such a large area and affects so many ponies will not have the capacity to keep its full strength for too long. ‘Tis possible that the circle will outlast the fog, leaving the mayor and her family safe.”

“There is a child here,” Red Steel countered. “Wouldst thou so casually cast Carrot Root to the side?”

That caused me to grimace. Red Steel’s comment wounded me, especially after all I had gone through to save the colt. If the circle were to collapse and the fog take him, then all of my work would have been for naught. Should I go out to fight the hags and be defeated, then I would have saved nopony. Not even a single child.

Still, I had to weigh the value of the many scores of ponies from Appleton against those around me. 'Twas my moral duty to do so, even if 'twas a heavy weight to bear. “How many children are there in Appleton?”

Red Steel fell into silence. I could only imagine all that was going through her mind at that moment. Where I had only been in Appleton for a few days and knew the names of a few of their numbers, Red Steel had lived in the hamlet for years. She knew these ponies whose fates we now weighed. Somehow I doubted my logic made her decision any easier.

Reaching some sort of conclusion, she grimaced and lowered her gaze from mine. I did not think her pride allowed to say that I was right, but conceded the argument with her silence.

Seeing that there were no more open disagreements about our course, I sought to address the situation we were in. "I am afraid that this plan is the best that can be done. I fear what else the coven might be doing outside of their schemes in Appleton. The fog is but one stage in whatever evil plan they have, and I would bet every bit I own that it is to serve a purpose we do not know yet."

Red Steel did a reluctant hoof wave that lacked the usual fire that always seemed to energize the mare. "Aye, aye, I grasp the logic of it. That does not make me hate it any less."

"Trust me, I am not happy about it, either," I said.

Gale put an encouraging hoof on Red Steel's shoulder. "None of us are, but that does not make it any less necessary."

Stalwart glanced towards the living room. "Shall we tell the mayor of our plans?"

"Aye, and quickly." That was not a conversation I looked forward to. About the last thing that family would want to hear was that it was about to be abandoned.

"I shall speak with her, then," Red Steel said as she trotted to meet with the Carrots. “If I am to be party to this decision, I will take my share of the blame for it.”

"My thanks," I said as she left. Part of me felt the coward for leaving the task to her, but ‘twas probably better for the Carrots to hear what was to be done from somepony they knew, rather than some pony they had only met a few days ago. Though I doubted it would do much to quell their fear once we left.

I groaned and planted my face on the table. Though I knew it was necessary, I did not look forward to the struggle that faced me over the coming hours. ‘Twas even likely that I was going to my doom and leading everypony to our final resting point. 

“Midnight,” Gale asked.

“Aye?” I replied.

Gale placed a gentle hoof on my back. “Courage. Thou art doing laudably.”

“I Lost an entire town,” I said, frustration growing within me. “I feel like a fool who was outmaneuvered at every turn.”

“Against multiple warlocks who were already in the final stages of their plan,” Stalwart said in a calming tone. “I doubt many would have done much better.”

Gale rubbed at my back. “Aye. The threat was far greater than any of us anticipated.”

“It does not change that I failed.” I sighed and lifted my head off the table. “I promised Princess Celestia herself that I would protect these ponies, and now...”

“Thou hast not failed yet,” Gale said firmly.

“If the coven can be struck down before they finish their plans, then the town may yet be saved,” Stalwart pointed out. “They would not have attempted to slay you if they were not worried you could stop them. And from what I have seen, milady, they have a right to fear you.”

The words of encouragement helped raise my spirits a little bit. The hags had made no small effort to thwart me. Why waste the effort at such a critical juncture if I was not a threat to them? Neigh, I was not dead yet, and they had not completed their work. This book had yet to be closed.

I rubbed the sides of my head to try and help me think. “If the fog yet remains, then its work is likely not yet done. There is yet time to stop them.” Standing, I moved towards the living room. “We had better draw that second circle and get ready to leave. Red Steel should be about done speaking with the mayor. Best to go as soon as possible.”

Red Steel was speaking in hushed tones with the mayor and her wife in the living room. The mayor and Celery Stalk held one another, with Root sleeping between them. Red Steel placed a hoof on Carrot Casserole’s shoulder. “All will be well. I give my word.”

The magnate nodded her head shakily. “Just save my family. Save my town. Please.”

“We will do what we can, Mayor Casserole,” I said. “That I do swear to thee.” If that would be enough, I could not say. All I could do was venture forth and give battle to see how fortune smiled.

Gale stepped forward and spoke firmly. “Time is of the essence, so if you would not object, Mayor...”

“Right, of course.” Carrot Casserole looked to her wife and son. “We will remain here.” There was a sense of dread and loss of hope with the way she said that, but what else could be done that did not waste time at this point?

Gale, Stalwart, Red Steel, and I headed outside. The fog remained on the other side of the circle, and I could feel it continuing to press against the invisible wall of magic. A sense of apprehension fell over me as I thought over going into that soupy mass of water vapor and magic, but I did not let it deter me. My course was set.

“One moment, everypony.” I drew upon my magic and cast the mental defensive spell upon my companions and myself. My horn throbbed from the effort, but I ignored the discomfort. “Gale, if thou couldst draw another circle?” Since she had done a capable job of doing so earlier under duress, I saw no reason not to have my friend draw another for me.

Gale nodded and went about her task. She was about halfway done with the circle when a curious noise met my ears. Out in the fog I heard the loud, rhythmic thumps of something large and solid hitting the ground and the groan of protesting wood. Next came the sound of light-hearted, whimsical whistling.

Red Steel tensed and looked out in the direction of the noise. “Something is coming.”

I frowned as the sounds drew closer. “Aye, and nothing good if I had to guess. It seems we are about to receive some guests.” I called out to Gale. “Gale, finish that circle!”

Gale went from a trot to a straight out run, dragging her wingblade through the dirt. After a quick examination ensured that there were no breaks in the circle, I put power into it and snapped it closed. Immediately afterwards, I noticed that there was perilously little room between the two circles for us to maneuver. Still, at least there was another magic circle between the house and whatever was out there.

The ravens started to caw as the noise drew closer, making it difficult to determine exactly where the sounds were coming from. After a couple minutes wait, three forms formed out of the fog. As I had feared, one was another one of those blighted trees that had attacked us in the forest grove. While I could not see its form clearly, the sound of groaning wood it made as it walked along left me with no doubts of its massiveness. The second figure was hunched over, similar in manner to a diamond dog, but it stopped too far back for me to see it clearly.

The third and final figure continued walking forward. Then as though with a will of its own, the fog parted to reveal Apple Butter. She gave us a malicious smile when she stopped well short of the circle. “My, my. It seems you all did manage to avoid the power of the fog. Ah admit, we were a bit worried when we did not see you lot shuffling along with the rest.” Her eyes scanned along the edge of the circle. “Though by the looks of it, you have trapped yourself inside that nice little circle of yours.”

Red Steel growled and she tightened her grip on her hammer. “So, thou art in cahoots with this madness?”

Apple Butter rolled her neck in an unconcerned manner. “Have been for a long time, Red. Even if you were always too stupid to figure out what was going on under your very nose.”

The militia captain gave Apple Butter a cold smile. “I think I will enjoy this more than I should. I ne'er cared for thee.”

“You break mah heart,” Apple Butter said with false hurt. “Though really, you have always been an annoyance. If ‘twas up to me, we would have hanged you or worse a long time ago. But Grandmother Carrot always has her reasons.” She spat on the ground. “But your time is up, you flightless bird.”

“So thou hast been sent to kill us, aye?” Assessing the situation, I felt trepidation; it had taken everything we had to destroy just one of those blighted trees, and it had not had the aid of a warlock or whatever else was standing near Apple Butter. Now we were without the services of Silent Forest and Subtle Song. 

Though I had to wonder why only Apple Butter had been sent to deal with us. Were they confident what had been sent would be more than enough for the job of slaying us? A matter of pride on Apple Butter’s part? I had humiliated her just a few hours ago. Or mayhaps maintaining the fog required the power of the rest of the coven.

Apple Butter grinned. “That is so, and ‘tis a task Ah plan on enjoying. Ah even brought some champions, like you offered me before, Magus.” She pulled a jar out from her saddlebags and bounced it in her hoof. “Just the matter of dealing with that little circle of yours, and then mah friends can join in on the fun.”

As it stood, neither magic nor the blighted tree could touch us. The circle would block Apple Butter’s magic, of course, and the blighted tree could not cross the barrier if it were the magical construct I believed it to be. If I had to guess, the third hulking form was also some sort of magical construct and would face the same restrictions. The problem was that we were trapped within the circle. If we wished to fight Apple Butter, we would have to break the circle first. Also, there was nothing stopping Apple Butter, a creature of will and the material, from simply throwing something to break the circle.

Still, I could not afford to show this creature fear; ‘twould only give her more courage when battle was joined. “Twice before I have told thee that I could see thee dead if I wished it. So I warn thee thrice and done, Apple Butter, if ‘tis my intention to slay thee, I am more than capable of doing so. Run away and never return, or thou wilt not be walking away from this farm. That I swear.”

Apple Butter snorted derisively. “Nice try, Magus, but Ah am not about to run away like some beaten dog with its tail ‘tween its legs. You die here and now. All of you.” She bounced the jar a couple more times. “Oh, and the mayor's stuck behind that circle too, no doubt. Figures you would save her and let everypony else hang.” She chuckled to herself. “How I have waited for this day.”

“Thou hast some quarrel with her?” I asked. I needed time to think of some solution to this quandary we were in. ‘Twas only a matter of time before battle joined, and I wanted every advantage I could gain.

Apple Butter snorted. “Of course Ah do. Have you seen her? Living in that fancy house of hers, growing fat on the land while the rest of us have had to toil our lives away. Maybe you do not know what it is like off in your fancy city, but out here, we work and break our backs every single day. And for what? Just to go out and do it again tomorrow, and the day after that until we’re dead and buried? A mare cannot even get ahead thanks to the magnates taking half of what we harvest.”

Gale’s face contorted into a scowl. “And this led thee to make common cause with hags? Or art thou one of them?” She must have been thinking along the same lines as I did. In any event, all information was relevant. Knowing more about our enemy increased our chances of prevailing this night.

“Ah have been one of them for a good while now.” Apple Butter hummed to herself as she considered her jar. “When Grandmother Carrot offered me the chance to finally get out of working as some sharecropper, with the chance for some revenge on the rest of the Carrots, Ah seized it.”

“So thou wouldst murder everypony in thy village just so that thou couldst stop being a sharecropper?” I asked incredulously. “There must be an easier way, and one that does not leave corpses strewn about the forest.”

“And work with the matriarch of the clan thou wouldst claim to despise to do so?” Gale questioned.

Apple Butter chuckled. “Ah think sparing one Carrot to get the rest is a pretty good deal, all things considered. Besides, she will get what is coming to her someday. The old nag is slowing down. Eventually Ah will learn enough from her to put her down and take her place.”

It seemed that loyalty was in short supply between the hags. Something to take note of. “Already thou dost plan to betray thy fellows?” I asked. “And what of the ponies of thine own clan? Thou wouldst murder them too?”

“Cowards, the lot of them!” Apple Butter made a slashing motion. “‘Twas Apples that made this town. It bears our name, not the name of the Carrots or anypony else. But who owns all the land? Who do we have to toil day in, and day out for? Magnate Carrot Casserole. Carrot might be her name, but she is more than happy to sell our apples at the market. If the cowards of mah clan had a bit of backbone to them, we could have long ago taken this town back. But they are too craven to even deal with one rich snob from Canterlot who has not worked a single honest day in her entire life.”

I frowned at the memory of the mob. “If memory serves, thou wert too craven to face me, either.”

Apple Butter snarled. “Ah will show you who—”

Whatever Apple Butter was about to say was cut off when Red Steel threw her hammer at the hag. The hammer flew true but was interrupted when it slammed into a blue shield of magic.

Apple Butter grinned after Red Steel’s blow proved to be impotent. “Big mistake, Red.” With the outer circle broken, the fog immediately flowed in to surround us. I had to make sure to ward my mind against it at a critical moment, and I could only hope my companions did that same and that my protection spell would help against the fog’s mental influence.

“Neigh, 'twas thy mistake to side with evil.” With a roar, Red Steel charged at Butter.

“Let us begin the attack, then,” Gale sighed. With a flick of her wings, she tossed out a pair of spikes. Butter’s shield continued to shimmer with energy, but her eyes widened when the cold iron spikes pierced the shield without issue and struck her in the chest. Her form rippled, the magic-resistant cold iron tearing away at whatever veil she had to reveal a mare who seemed many decades older than before.

Butter screamed in pain and staggered back. “Kill them! Kill them!”

The hulking creature bound forward, using both its massive arms and small hind legs to propel itself. When it came close enough, I saw that it had a black, chitin exoskeleton, and large horns on its head made the demon look like a mix between beetle and a diamond dog. It moved with a speed the defied its size, and soon it was upon the charging Red Steel, its bulk looming over her. It swung a chitinous claw at the militia captain, intent on taking her head from her shoulders.

Red ducked and rolled under the blow, then used the momentum to get back to her hooves. She dipped her head as she kept up her run and scooped up her hammer. It seemed that it was her intent to continue right on until she got to Butter and smashed her head in. Unfortunately, the blighted tree stepped forward to place itself between Red and Apple Butter. It swept down one branch after another to block Red’s advance, and she was forced to back up or be crushed by one of the slamming branches.

The demon came up from behind Red and swung down another claw at her. She dodged to the side, but only barely avoided the blow. With the demon off-balance, Red swung her hammer at its chest. It moved with surprising speed to deflect the blow to the side with strength beyond that of any equine. Red stumbled back several steps before regaining her balance, circling the demon but clearly struggling.

Stalwart stuck to my side, no doubt to protect me should any of our enemies charge me. There could have been more opponents out in the fog for all we knew. Gale was circling around in the fog to try and get at Apple Butter, but the tree moved to block her.

Seeing that Red was in danger of being overwhelmed by her supernatural foe, I created a chunk of ice the size of a small boulder and tossed it at the demon. It crashed into its chest and sent it staggering back. Getting a moment to regain her bearings, Red return to the fray, swinging her hammer to hit the beast in the chest. The force of the blow forced it back further and cracks formed in its exoskeleton, though it dug its foreclaws into the dirt to maintain its balance.

Gale continued running to try and get around the blighted tree so that she could get at Butter, but the tree had the inside track, and its long strides always served to cut her off. It swung a branch down at Gale, forcing her to flap her wings to barely avoid the branch. The tertiary branches of the main branch shot forward to try and grab Gale. Her wingblades slashed back and forth to cut the branches off before they could get a firm grip on her.

She dashed in towards the trunk of the tree. Her enchanted blades sunk into the bark, but not nearly deep enough to fell it even after she struck it half a dozen times. The relatively thin wing blades were designed to slice through flesh and bone, not chop through thick wood.

Not content to let Gale chop it down, the blighted tree stomped down at her. Gale lept to the side. She rolled with her momentum to get to her feet. The tree monster swung another branch at her, forcing her to withdraw. “Damnation, I should have packed better weapons for trees!”

Butter emerged from the side of her tree guardian and tossed her jar at the house. I was in the middle of drawing magic for another spell, and was not ready to stop the sudden throw. It shattered against the side of the house and the contents burst into fire. The jar must have been filled with some sort of alchemical fire, as the ravens took flight to circle around the house as flames licked at it.

Gale flapped her wings to create some distance between her and the tree. She grinned at the fire and waved at it for me. “Midnight, if thou wouldst be so kind as to relocate the flames?”

“I will deal with the fire.” I cast an ice spell that created a solid sheet of ice on the flames, completely smothering them.

Gale groaned loudly. “I meant to put the fire onto the tree monster!”

Damnation. I had misinterpreted Gale’s intentions, and cost us valuable time.

Before I could reply, the tree closed the distance between us and swatted at Gale. This time she proved too slow and was likely distracted, and she was struck and careened into the dirt. The tree rose a leg up with the intention of smashing Gale. Coming up with the best I could, I threw up a domed shield around my friend. The tree came down on Gale and a wave of pain flashed through my horn as the weight of the creature slammed into the shield. It held, though I could feel the cracks forming in it.

Gale took the opportunity to regain her senses. She waved for me to drop the shield, and when I did so, she ran out of the range with which the tree could easily strike at her.

Red continued swinging her hammer at the demon, but its chitinous armor and sheer size made it hard for her to kill the beast. She gave another mighty swing of her hammer, but was thrown off-balance when the demon back-stepped, causing the hammer to miss entirely. Red lost her balance for a precious moment as she tried to recover. The beetle demon stepped back forward. The militia captain brought her hammer up for a block as quickly as she could, but the demon slammed its shoulder right through her guard and into her body. The weight and strength of the creature sent her sprawling to the ground.

The demon rose its arms with the intent of crushing Red, but its attention was so consumed with its target that it did not see Stalwart charging at it until the last moment. The Guard sergeant stopped just short of the demon and pivoted in place to buck the demon in the chest as it turned to face him. The cracks in its chest armor spread, and it was knocked back from Red.

Stalwart stood guard over Red long enough to let her pull herself to her hooves. She gave her savior a thankful nod, and he returned with his own nod, careful not to take his eyes off the demon. The two then circled the demon, taking cautious blows to force it back as they tried to create an opening.

Out of the corner of my vision, I saw Carrot Casserole and Celery Stalk stumble out of the house in a daze. It had not taken long for the fog to seize their senses, though I momentarily wondered where Root was.

My musings were interrupted when I felt Butter draw upon her magic. She still bled from where the throwing spikes punctured her chest, but it seemed to do nothing to take the rage out of her eyes as she scowled at us. The warlock thrust a hoof forward, and a score of rock shards flew at me.

I called on more of my magic, but my response felt slow as I cast another shield spell. Still, the shield was up in time to block the attack. The shards pelted and shattered against the shield. No doubt they could have done serious injury or even killed me if they had struck with such force, but I could feel myself weakening even from that effort and spots began to fill my vision.

Presented with an opening, Gale threw another pair of her cold iron spikes. They flew true, but Butter rose a hoof to the sky with an effort of magic. The earth shook, and a solid wall of earth intersected itself between Butter and the darts. Unlike the shield Butter had used earlier, there was nothing magical about the earth once it had been formed, and could thus block the cold iron spikes.

Seeing an opportunity, I forced more of my dwindling magic through my horn to cast a freezing spell at Butter. The ice blue beam hurtled towards the hag, but to my shock seemed to just melt away when it struck her.

“Magic resistant,” I said to myself, as much as to Gale. I had completely forgotten that was one of the hags’ abilities. That meant it was going to be all the harder to slay her. Yet another wasted spell from me.

Before I could think of a way to defeat Butter, the tree strode forward again. Of one mind, Gale and I ran to try and put distance between us. I needed time to gather my wits and think of a plan, while Gale’s weapons were ineffective against the blighted tree.

Butter clutched at her wounds, but still she grinned at us. “Suffer, you whorse!” she called out. She fired dark energy at us, and this time my attempt to form a shield spell was too slow. The magic struck Gale, causing her to shriek in pain. She tumbled to the ground and lay there in a fit of convulsions.

I stopped running and whirled about to dash back to Gale. Scanning her, I quickly recognized the pain spell and could feel Butter maintaining it to cripple Gale. Before I could counter the spell, the blighted tree was upon us. It brought down ones of its large branches, and it was all I could do to block it with a shield spell.

Butter laughed as she kept up the pain spell. She had us pinned down. I needed to keep up my shield spell to keep the monstrous tree from slaying us, which in turned drained heavily on my quickly dwindling supply of magic, thus making a counter attack against Butter difficult. We also could not move as long as Butter could maintain the pain spell. I could not leave my friend to be crushed by the tree, but we were going to be slain the moment my magic was exhausted. Stalwart and Red were of no help. Even now they were fighting hard to keep the demon from gaining any momentum. If one of them left that fight, the other would likely perish.

“What is the matter, Magus?” Butter laughed again as the tree continued to batter at my shield. “Are you not as mighty as you thought?”

I shot the warlock a baleful glare. She was hurting my friend, knowing that I would not abandon her.

“Slay her!” a deep and terrible force bade me, feeling like ice-cold water running through my veins.

I would slay her! I looked up into the sky and beyond the branches of the degrading tree, I saw the unkindness circling the farm. A thunderbolt of inspiration struck me. Reaching out to the ravens with my magic, I touched upon the birds’ wills, pointed a hoof at Butter, and said with dreadful finality, “Die.”

As one, the unkindness swooped down upon Butter, their malicious caws preceding them. Her eyes widened as she saw her doom come for her. In a hopeless gesture, she struck a hoof at them, causing more earth shards to strike out into the unkindness. She might as well have cast a stone into a flood; for every bird she struck down, a dozen more continued forward. The mass of birds fell on her, nearly drowning out her shrieks. Scores of ravens pecked with piercing beaks and slashed with talons. There were so many of the birds that I could not even see the hag underneath them all, but her shrieks carried on all the same.

For their parts, Stalwart and Red continued to work over the beetle demon. Each struck in turn, keeping the creature off balance and unable to take advantage of its size or strength. Stalwart swung a wingblade up at its head, causing the demon to block the blow with its forearm. Seeing an opening, Red stepped in and slammed her hammer into the weakened chitin of its chest. 

The demon staggered from the weight of the blow and white ichor wept from the blow. The demon’s chest heaved for breath and it clutched at its wound. Stalwart took the opening in its guard to slash his enchanted wingblade against the creature’s knee. The sliced tendons caused it to fall to a knee, and it had to brace itself with one of its arms to keep from falling over.

With the demon now terribly exposed, Red brought her hammer down on its skull. There was a loud crack at the blow, and the demon’s head bled from a dozen cracks in it. The militia captain brought down her hammer again, leaving its head crumpled and spilling the white ichor all about its body. A third blow caused its head to smash like a pumpkin, causing ichor and chunks of flesh to splatter about. Its body crumpled to the ground.

That just left the blighted tree to deal with. My shield cracked as another rotting branch hit it. Gale was stirring now that the pain spell had ceased.

“Gale!” I pointed at Butter. “The jars in Butter’s saddlebags!”

Gale grunted and shook off the pain. She staggered to her hooves, and I opened a hole in my shield to allow her to run towards Butter. She dove into the pile of ravens covering the hag, and after a few moments, she emerged from the unkindness with Butter’s saddlebags in her teeth. She reached inside one of the bags and pulled out a jar, then—guessing my intentions—threw the bottle at the corrupt tree.

The jar smashed against it, and less than a moment later it was cast aflame. It started thrashing about with wild abandon. While it had remained unconcerned about any other blows before, it seemed that fire was its bane. Gale threw more of the bottles at the creature, each one spreading the flames.

The hags’ minion stumbled and crashed into the magnate’s house. It smashed right through the walls of the home, and quickly the flames spread.

I grinned as I watched the tree burn. How quickly the tide had turned against my opponents. Still, something nagged in my thoughts. Casserole and Celery had already left the house, having been taken by the fog. Looking about, I could see them nowhere. I was also now irked that my earlier attempts to save the house had been for naught. Worst still, I had failed to save a single pony in Carrot’s family from the fog. But...

Then I realized what was bothering me. While I had seen the two parents leave the house, I had not seen Root leave with them. Could it be that my sleep spell had kept the colt asleep and safe from the fog’s power?

“Root!” I waved toward the house. “He is still inside!” I dashed towards the house. I was halfway to the house when a sharp jolt of pain shot from my knee. I stumbled and fell, rolling painfully on the ground.

Damnation, the knee that had been dislocated now burned with a terrible pain. What cruel twist of fate was this that an injury done against Root’s will would result in him being burned to death?

Thankfully, not everypony else was so hurt. Red streaked past me and ran into the burning house.

Gale leaned down next to me. “Is it thy knee? How bad is it?”

“I think I may have sprained it,” I said through clenched teeth. “Help me to my hooves so that—” I was cut off when the tree groaned. Branches braced against the walls and it slowly pulled itself out of the burning home.

“Red, hurry!” Gale called out. She grasped me and helped me to my hooves. “Any ideas on how to finish this thing?”

I glanced about, trying to find inspiration. I did not have much left within me, so whatever spell I used, it would have to do the job. Otherwise we were going to be in a great deal of trouble.

My eyes fell upon the chimney of the kitchen building. I closed my eyes and concentrated my magic upon it. There was a groan and creak of protesting wood as I exerted my telekinesis on the chimney. Eventually there was a series of cracks as the wood that held the chimney in place gave out. I lifted the chimney up and then levitated it before me. 

“Red Steel!” I called out as I aimed the pile of brick and mortar at the blighted tree. I would not be able to hold back my blow for long as the tree slowly walked towards me.

Thankfully, Red came running out of the house with Root lying on her back. She circled wide of the burning tree. Nothing now holding me back, I tossed the chimney and it collided against the tree. There was an explosion of bricks and mortar as the two forces met. The blow knocked the tree back, and with a loud, pitiful groan, it fell back into the house. This time the fall caused the house to collapse in on it. At least fate had not been so cruel as to have that smother the fire; instead, the alchemical solution kept right on burning, and the tree did not rise again.

My knees shook from my magical exertions and they gave out from under me. Gale quickly grabbed me and lowered me to the ground gently. “Careful, careful, Midnight. Take a moment to rest.”

My breaths came in labored heaves. I could barely even see straight, I was so exhausted. “P-please tell me ... that there are ... no more.”

Stalwart examined the demon and then the hag in turn. Though he had to brush some of the birds aside to look at Apple Butter. One might have considered it unnecessary to make sure our foes had been slain at that juncture, but I wished to be sure. No sense leaving half-dead enemies at one’s back who might then stab it later. “They are slain,” he said.

Red Steel walked over to stand over me. She looked down at me and grinned. “Well fought.”

“Aye,” I huffed out between breaths.

“Aye.” Red Steel frowned. “Though it would have helped if thou didst set the tree aflame when Gale asked it of you.”

I groaned and closed my eyes. “I am afraid I do not have much in the way of talent with pyromancy.” Not to mention I had embarrassed myself by not seeing what Gale had wished for me to do during the chaos of battle.

“We have won the day,” Gale said. “That will have to be enough.”

“We have won the battle, not the day,” I reminded. “Remember, there are still at least three more hags to deal with. And they may have more such as the demon and tree.” I sighed. “And now even the mayor and her wife are Lost.”

Red Steel cleaned her hammer on the grass. “They will not grow easier to fight if we tarry, nor will anypony be saved.” She hefted her hammer, careful to keep it clear of Root, who still lay peacefully on her back. “But first we need to take Root someplace safe. My home sound reasonable?”

“Reasonable enough,” Stalwart agreed.

Red Steel grinned at Gale. “I believe I have a wood axe thou couldst make use of.”

Gale gave her wingblades an annoyed look. “That would be prudent. After that, we can take this war to the covens’ doorstep.”

“Then let us be off.” Feeling a bit better after a moment of rest, I waved for Gale to help me up and she did so. I looked over to where Apple Butter laid, ravens still covering her corpse. “But one moment. I need to do something.”

I gingerly walked over to Apple Butter. Every ache and sore in my body making their presence known to me. I had to wonder if there would be anything left of me when the sun next rose. When I got close, I waved for the ravens to leave her be for a bit, and they took flight. ‘Twas not as though their carrion was going anywhere.

Seeing the corpse, ‘twas difficult to say exactly which wound had slain Apple Butter. She had bled from so many wounds that her coat had been dyed red, and the ravens had already feasted upon her eyes and tongue. It had been a brutal and terrible way to die, and it disturbed me that I had caused such a death. In order to cast a spell, something of that spell must be within one’s self. Some part of me, in that moment of mortal danger and hatred over what was being done to my friend, had dearly wished to kill Apple Butter in this manner instead of a quick and efficient one. I was not sure what that said about me.

Still, I had one last message for the hag that had so vexed me over the last couple of days. I leaned down to speak softly into what was left of her ear. “I told thee that I could slay thee if 'twas my intention.”