Episode 3: Mageismoiras

by mr lovecolt

Prologue and Chapter 1: The first 48 hours

Prologue

A lamp lay in pieces on the floor next to the nightstand, and the quilt on Fluttershy’s bed lay crumpled in a heap against the wall, covering just a fraction of Fluttershy’s hind hooves. The glass in a small curio had been shattered, and pieces of glass animals lay strewn in the debris. Blood pooled around Fluttershy’s head, turning parts of her mane red in the process.

Rarity stood still in the doorway for a moment. Her lips were frozen and her mouth remained in the shape of an ‘o’. She ran to Fluttershy’s side and finally began to scream.

“Fluttershy!” Rarity yelled, “Fluttershy, no, no, no, this can’t be right! Fluttershy!”

Rarity’s aura enveloped Fluttershy’s head, but when she lifted it up, the shock caused her to lose her concentration, and the pegasus’ head fell to the wooden floor with a thud.

“Rarity!” Rainbow Dash’s voice called from downstairs, “I told you not to go up there!”

Rarity went quiet again. She stood over her best friend’s body as tears fell onto the blood stained mane. The door behind her burst open and Rainbow Dash flew into the room, only to stop just as Rarity did when she entered.

“Sweet Celestia, why did you come up here?” She yelled.

Rarity’s hoof moved against Fluttershy’s back. Her body was cold; the muscles already began to stiffen. Rarity was pushed away by Rainbow Dash’s wings, and she watched as Rainbow Dash lifted Fluttershy up and cradled her in her hooves.

“Get up, Fluttershy!" Rarirty yelled, "Wake up! Wake up!”

“She…” Rainbow Dash quivered, “She can’t hear you.”

“Get Twilight!” Rarity yelled, “Get a letter to Celestia! Do something!”

Rarity’s knees wobbled and she fell to the floor. Something pierced into her neck. She reached up and pulled out a piece of glass in the shape of a horn. She looked up to see Rainbow Dash still holding onto Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash’s mouth moved, but the words turned into garbled sound in Rarity’s ears. Rarity turned her gaze to the corner of the room. A design had been burned into the wall; a series of lines radiating from the center surrounded by a circle. Her swoon continued until everything went black.

*****

Chapter 1

The Carousel Boutique was placed on the outskirts of the town bazaar, away from the food stands and a small store that sold only sofas and quills. The other storefronts were dark and covered for the evening, but the lights within the Carousel Boutique burned through the windows, letting the passersby know that its proprietor was still awake, still moving, and still creating. The autumn evening brought with it the curled wisps of cloud that the pegasi of Cloudsdale used to help with temperature control, but it still allowed for an open space for Luna’s Moon to shine down on the town of Ponyville. Thanks to the moonlight, the Carousel Boutique shimmered in the night like a beacon; its white walls called out to the two ponies that stood twenty strides away.

“Thanks fer comin’,” Applejack said, “Ah know how much Rarity means to ya.”

The figure that stood beside Applejack remained silent. Applejack turned from her companion and focused her attention on the boutique. Through the drawn shades, the shadows of fabrics flew through the air, and Rarity’s silhouette paced back and forth. Applejack shook her head. Even now, Applejack thought, Rarity’s still thinking about fashion. She took a few steps forward, but the hoot of an owl stopped her in her tracks.

“Y’all don’t suppose that’s Owlowiscious, do ya?”

The figure turned his head toward the source of the noise.

“Nope.”

“How can ya tell?”

“Ah’m good at listenin’, is all.”

“Ah guess that’s why Rarity likes ya so much.”

Big Macintosh easily caught up with Applejack, and together they made their way to Carousel Boutique. They stood in front of the door for a moment and looked at each other as though to silently argue over who’s knocking would be more welcome for the white unicorn that stood on the other side. Applejack nudged her head towards the door. Big Macintosh turned away and raised his hoof to the door. Though he tried to knock lightly, his heavy hoof made a deep pounding sound against the door.

The two ponies stood for a moment. The sound of fabrics and sewing tools as they fell to the floor came from the other side of the door. Rarity’s squeak broke through the sound of the inanimate objects, and the sound of hissing as her cat, Opalescence, was sent to another room. A moment later, the door opened, and the three ponies stood together. Rarity looked at her two guests through her red-rimmed glasses. A measuring tape was draped around her neck like a scarf.

“Oh Applejack, darling.” Rarity said, “How wonderful for you to come. I was worried, what with the time and all. And Big Macintosh, I’m certainly glad to see you, too.”

“You can just call me Mac, Miss Rarity.” Big Macintosh replied with a hint of blush on his face.

“I’ll stop calling you Big Macintosh the moment you stop calling me Miss Rarity.”

Applejack rolled her eyes as the couple continued on. Her brother was a gentlecolt through and through and would never allow himself to speak to a mare without saying ‘Miss’, and Rarity hated using nicknames, which she always called ‘diminutives’, unless she was referring to her cat. A smile crept on Applejack’s face as she entered Rarity’s home and turned around just in time to see her brother bow his head to enter as well. She couldn’t quite figure out what had brought these two together, but it made her smile to think that not only one of her best friend’s was happy, but so was her brother. Though he never said what was on his mind much, she could always tell when he thought of Rarity by the smile that always crept onto his face.

“So, Rarity,” Applejack said, “what are ya doin’ up at this time makin’ clothes?”

Rarity turned away from Big Macintosh and turned to her male ponnequins that she had lined up against the mirror at the back of the boutique. Each of them wore a pair of black slacks, each in a different design. On one of the ponnequin’s heads, however, was a shiny black cowpony hat. A purple aura surrounded the hat and it levitated over to Applejack.

“Oh, you know how I get sometimes,” Rarity replied, still staring at the ponnequins, “I just get inspired sometimes and I just have to create. I made this hat for you. It’s just a little something to let you know I’m thinking of you, is all.”

Applejack looked over to her brother, whose normally stoic eyes had taken on a look of concern. Applejack knew that since her brother rarely spoke to anypony that he was very good as reading body language and hearing what goes unsaid. She watched as Big Macintosh took a few hesitant steps towards Rarity. The purple aura surrounded one of the ponnequins and it hovered in between Rarity and Big Macintosh.

“Oh, and Big Macintosh,” Rarity said from behind the ponnequin, “I just had to make this for you, too. I know you aren’t much into fashion or anything like that, but I think you would look simply dashing if you were to go out on the town one night for dinner or something like that. You can’t just stay at the farm forever. You must go out and live a little.”

A box crashed in the workroom, and Rarity turned to run towards the sound.

“Oh, Opal,” Rarity called out, “I told you not to get into the jewelry box.”

Rarity rushed into her workroom, leaving Applejack with the hat on her hoof and Big Macintosh with a pair of slacks draped over his foreleg. The two Apple siblings stood in silence for a moment, but then Applejack broke the silence.

“Ya know this is just how she deals with things.”

Big Macintosh looked down at the slacks he held and then turned to Applejack.

“Eeyup.”

Applejack turned to the workroom, where the sound of jewelry being placed back into a box could be heard. Two days, Applejack thought, it’s only been two days. Upon the news of Fluttershy’s death, the visit from Princess Celestia had been immediate, but also swift. It was she, Rarity, and Twilight Sparkle who were present when Princess Celestia arrived at the cottage and viewed the scene. Applejack hadn’t seen Twilight Sparkle since just after Princess Celestia’s arrival, or Rainbow Dash since just before Princess Celestia’s arrival, and Pinkie Pie had disappeared even before that. Princess Celestia spent only a few minutes in Fluttershy’s bedroom before she emerged and ordered the three of them not to say anything to anypony about the incident. She stationed a guard at the cottage and returned to Canterlot as swiftly as she had arrived. Applejack knew she shouldn’t have broken Princess Celestia’s trust by telling her brother about Fluttershy, but she knew that he would have eventually found out about it from Rarity.

“Rarity’s been in there a while.” Applejack finally said.

“Eeyup.”

“Think maybe we should check in on her?”

“Eeyup.”

The two ponies moved to the workroom and saw Rarity in the middle of the room. Most of the jewelry had been returned to the box, but a small mane pin hovered in front of her. The pin was of a blue butterfly. As Rarity’s aura surrounded it, a blue glow emitted from the pin. Opalescence sat by her owner’s side and rubbed her head against Rarity’s flank.

“Opal,” Rarity whispered, “You can just be so clumsy at times, can’t you?”

“Uh, Rarity?” Applejack asked, “Are y’all okay?”

Though Applejack spoke gently, she watched as the sound of her voice caused Rarity to leap to her hooves and turn around. The aura around the butterfly disappeared and the pin fell to the floor.

“Oh, Applejack, I’m sorry.” Rarity said, “I was just… putting up the jewelry that Opal had knocked over.”

Applejack and Rarity turned their attention to the butterfly pin. Rarity took a moment to pick up the pin with her hoof and placed it back into the jewelry box. The jewelry box levitated to the desk near the entrance, but Rarity continued to look at the pin that had been placed on top of the jewelry pile.

“Do you remember the night we all went to the Grand Galloping Gala?” Rarity asked, “All Fluttershy wanted to do was talk to the animals in the Royal Canterlot Gardens.”

A lump formed in Applejack’s throat.

“Yep, ah remember,” Applejack said as she made her way to her friend, “She couldn’t get none of ‘em to talk to her, and by the end of the night, she ended up grabbing a squirrel with her teeth.”

The two mares shared a small laugh at the memory, but as Applejack got closer, she could see small tears begin to form in the corners of Rarity’s eyes.

“How about ah make us some tea?” Applejack said, “Would ya like that, sugarcube?”

Rarity turned her head towards Big Macintosh and nodded. Applejack made her way to the door and was gone a moment later, leaving Rarity and Big Macintosh alone in the workroom. The red stallion draped the pair of slacks over a desk and went over to Rarity.

“Knowing Applejack, I’m sure she must have told you what happened, despite the order from Princess Celestia.”

“Eeyup.” Big Macintosh replied.

“Though, I’m sure she hasn’t told you everything, has she?”

“Nope.”

“As it should be,” Rarity said as she closed the lid to the jewelry box, “Come, we should go see if Applejack needs help with the tea.”

Rarity’s eyes squeezed shut for a moment, and a sniffle escaped from her lips. Rarity had made it just past Big Macintosh when she felt a hoof on her back. She turned around to see Big Macintosh staring right into her eyes.

“One time, down at the farm,” Big Macintosh said, “We had a problem with a cockatrice. Applejack and I tried to do what we could to get rid of it, but nothin’ we did worked. Then one night, Fluttershy came to the farm. Fluttershy didn’t even wince when she saw it. She just gave it a look and off it went as fast as its little legs could carry it.”

Rarity cocked her head to the side and continued to look on as Big Macintosh spoke.

“We all remember Fluttershy a little bit different. Ah know she’s gone, but if we all bring together what we remember of her, it’s like puttin’ her together again.”

Rarity’s eyes widened and she leaned in to give Big Macintosh a kiss on the cheek.

“You always know what to say, Big Macintosh,” Rarity said, “Which is why it makes me sad that you talk so little. Why don’t we all sit down over a nice cup of jasmine tea?”

Rarity and Big Macintosh left the workroom. On the desk, the blue butterfly pin glittered in the light from the main room that bled into the workroom. Rarity closed the door, and the workroom was enveloped in darkness once more.

*****

Twilight Sparkle sat in the study on the top floor of the Golden Oak Library. The sound of leaves as they rustled in the wind whispered above her head. She looked out of her window for a moment to look at Luna’s Moon as it rest high in the sky. The moon edged upwards higher until it finally disappeared completely from the window’s view. A series of candles surrounded the edges of the desk, and she turned her attention back to one of the books that Discord had given her in the alicorn-locked section of the Crystal City Library. She continued to read on into the night, and the light from the candles sent shadows of her own form against the wall. The silhouetted reflections danced with one another, combined, separated, and disappeared. The sound of the leaves was accompanied by the occasional turn of a page. A dark purple aura surrounded a quill that rest on the edge of the desk next to a scroll. The aura enveloped the scroll and it unwound. Twilight Sparkle remained silent as the quill’s scratches against the scroll joined the chorus of leaves.

“Geomancy,” Twilight Sparkle began, “Originally began as a form of divination using lines and figures connected between geographic features. The most common form of this magic was through the utilization of locations within the element of earth, but when unicorns developed magic powers over the other elements of air, water, and fire, so, too, did the ability to divine events from said elements. Separately, these became known as aeromancy, hydromancy, and pyromancy. As the powers of unicorns became more controlled, there came to be a power where certain unicorns could divine the fates not just through interpreting said geographic features, but by manipulating them at their most basic levels. When taken together, these forms of magic became known collectively as “alchemancy”.”

Twilight Sparkle lowered the quill and placed a hoof on her chin. Permanently altering an object’s basic makeup, she thought. Twilight Sparkle was no stranger to altering different objects for her magic studies – she could make moustaches appear out of thin air, change rocks and sticks to top hats and canes, even changing a frog into an orange – but this seemed an alien concept to her. It had never occurred to her that the ability to change objects could be permanent. This was definitely a subject that she would have to get back to later on, but for now, she needed to find the magic that Discord had told her about two days ago.

If they know that there are ponies who can create death, then they know that there are ponies who can create life.

The pages flipped with increased speed as Twilight Sparkle’s eyes skimmed over the words of each section. Finally, her eyes stopped at a word whose meaning was immediately known to her.

“Necromancy,” Twilight Sparkle whispered, “A form of magic most commonly associated with communication between the spirits of those who have passed, but can also include the physical raising of said spirits through the medium of an unbroken vessel. An unbroken vessel?”

A knock at the door caused Twilight Sparkle to fall from her sitting place. The door opened at the bottom of the staircase, and Twilight Sparkle listened as Spike made his way up the stairs.

“Twilight,” Spike asked, “You mentioned earlier about an experiment you wanted me to help you with?”

“Of course,” Twilight Sparkle replied as she rolled up the scroll she had written upon and blew out the candles, “I was just rereading something to make sure I knew what we needed to find.”

“Yes ma’am, that’s me,” Spike replied, “I can help you find anything.”

“There’s something that I need to get from Fluttershy’s house. However, there’s a guard stationed outside of her cottage.”

“Whoa,” Spike said, “What’s a Royal Guard doing outside Fluttershy’s place?”

“Oh, you know,” Twilight Sparkle lied to her assistant, “Sometimes Discord just gets unruly and Fluttershy’s really the only pony who seems to have any sway over him.”

“I see,” Spike replied as he raised an eyebrow.

“Yep,” Twilight Sparkle continued, “Anyway, the guard isn’t allowed to let anypony in, so I’m going to need you to distract him while I go in and get what I need.”

Twilight Sparkle made her way down the staircase to the main room of the library. Her eyes darted around the room as she mentally prepared herself for what she was about to do. The darkness in the room was interrupted as two yellow eyes appeared in the corner. She went to her second assistant.

“Just tell the guard that you need to see Fluttershy about Owlowiscious.” She said to Spike, still staring at the owl.

“But, Owlowiscious isn’t sick, Twilight.”

“I know that,” Twilight Sparkle replied, “But you just need to distract him for a few minutes while I go in and get what I need.”

“And what is it that you need?”

“An unbroken vessel.”

Twilight Sparkle continued to pace around the room while Spike began to scratch his head at that she had just told him. Spike said nothing, however, as he went over to Owlowiscious to lift him from his perch. Twilight Sparkle stood at the door of the library and was joined by Spike and Owlowiscious. Her eyes, which only a few moments ago darted back and forth as though reading from an invisible book, now remained motionless as she reached up her hoof to open the door. Unbroken vessel, Twilight Sparkle thought, I just need to put her back together again. Twilight Sparkle opened the door, and they entered the darkness as they made their way towards Fluttershy’s cottage.

Comments

[StrobeLights]

Beautiful. Can't wait to read more!