Daughter of Magic

by Moon Glow

Chapter 17: A Day in the Ruins: Part 1

Author's Note:

Hey, everyone.

Sorry this took so long and that it's shorter than the others. With having to deal with that creep that scared me from writing for a year, struggling to recover mentally, and trying to relight my fires of creativity, this chapter took me a while. I was going for a longer chapter, but I'm stuck at the moment, so I've decided to end the chapter at a certain point and divide the chapter into a Part 1, Part 2, etc.

For those who have been waiting a long time for "Daughter of Magic's" return, thank you all so much for your patience. I am still working on my other stories and I've even discontinued some on my FanFiction.net page because I can't get to continue anymore or I've fallen out of interest due to various reasons. Thankfully, I still hold the desire to continue "Daughter of Magic" and I am even thinking of posting this on Archive of Our Own.

I'd like to give a special thank you to the admin Eldorado for coming to my aide when that creep stalked me to this site and was able to deal with him while the admins of FanFiction.net were non-responsive.

So thank you everyone and Eldorado for everything and I hope you guys enjoy this new chapter.

If anyone has an ideas on what Aurora and her friends should do in the slice-of-life chapters, feel free to PM me under the title "Daughter of Magic ideas." If I use one of your ideas, I inform the readers and thank you in those chapters' notes.

The next morning, Aurora did her morning routine and ate a healthy breakfast before packing a lunch.

“I’m meeting up with Gareth and Safir, today. We might be gone all day.”

The Apples nodded as Apple Bloom called out to the centauride as she left the house.

“Be sure to keep yerselves hydrated!”

With that said, Aurora turned around, made her way back to the kitchen, grabbed a water bottle from the fridge, and placed it in her satchel before finally leaving to meet with her friends.

After the fish lunch with her draconic uncle the previous day, Aurora was able to spend the rest of the day with relief and renewed joy. She told Spike about her father and her life back in her old world and in turn, he told her of the various misadventures he had with her mother. They had also agreed to meet for meat-based lunches every other day afterwards. Something she was looking forward to.

After returning Big Mac’s fishing rod that afternoon, she told the Apple family about her day with her uncle, minus the fish eating. They all beamed as they heard Aurora’s tale. Applejack could see that Aurora seemed “brighter” than the day before. Wanting her to become even happier, she allowed Aurora to take the day off, which was fine with her, though she told her friends that she had the day off and quickly made plans.

Aurora made her way to the entrance to the Everfree Forest as it was the designated rendezvous point for her and her friends. The twins were unable to come as they were helping Pinkie Pie mind Sugarcube Corner until their parents got back. She didn’t have to wait long for Gareth and Safir to meet up with her. Both of them had bags with Safir holding a book in his claws. Seeing Aurora, they hailed her.

“Aurora!” Gareth called out as they approached her.

Aurora waved to the pair as they stopped a couple feet away from her.

“Hey, guys. Ready for today?”

“I’ve got the first aid kit and some food ready.” Safir said as he pointed to his satchel.

Gareth grinned. “And I got paper, quills and ink, and the map.”

Aurora then checked her supplies. “I brought some apples from Sweet Apple Acres, the raincoat Miss Rarity made for me, some candles and matches along with flashlights and batteries, and a bowie knife.”

Safir tilted his head in confusion. “Why did you need a raincoat and a bowie knife?”

Aurora frowned. “For the knife, I need something other than my new hooves to take out anything that may see me as lunch. As for the raincoat, Applejack said something weird.”

Once again, Safir was confused.

“What?”

“She said ‘If you can’t get back before the pegasi start the rain, get to the nearest shelter and wait it out.’”

“Why is that weird?” Gareth asked.

Aurora ruffled her head as if she was trying to scratch an itch.

“How would the pegasi start the rain? Nothing controls the weather.”

The boys paused for a moment, thinking about what Aurora had said. It was then that Safir spoke.

“Aurora. Here, it’s the pegasi’s job to control the weather.”

Aurora cocked her head to the side. “Huh?”

Gareth nodded.

“Yeah. Griffins do the same back in Griffinstone. We have weather factories that run on schedule, scheduled water collection for the reservoirs, even rainbow-making.”

Now Aurora was baffled. Seeing the look on her face, Gareth asked, “Didn’t you have anyone controlling the weather where you came from?”

Aurora shook her head. “No. Weather runs on its own back home. All we could do is use satellites in space to try and predict the weather. Especially useful during hurricane season.”

Gareth and Safir gawked, but for different reasons.

“Your world’s weather controls itself!?” Safir exclaimed.

“You have a hurricane season?!” Gareth exclaimed.

Aurora nodded as they made their way to the Everfree Forest.

“‘Yeah’ to both questions. I lived on a group of tropical islands before coming here, so my family and everyone on the islands had to keep a sharp eye out for hurricanes.”

She then let out a laugh as they entered the Everfree, keeping a sharp eye on the cairn path they had made.

“Every time we get a hurricane warning on the radio, Mom would always go in a panic. She made sure our hurricane shelter was waterproof and had no leaks, stores everything, including her books, into it, and then get me and Dad in it until Dad had to tell her to chill out.”

The trio laughed at Twilight’s expense, though internally, Aurora felt the ping of sadness again.

“It seems like forever ago that it was like that. Oh, why did you have to go to that dig, Dad? Me and Mom miss you.”

Remembering where she was and who she was with, Aurora mentally shook her head to rid herself of the feeling.

“No, Aurora! Remember what Uncle Spike said! ‘You can’t dwell on the past. Yes, you miss Dad and are worried about Mom. But YOU need to be strong for THEIR sakes!’ This isn’t like you! What happened to the girl who punched Arianna Salis in the face for calling Mitzi ‘stupid?’ Or when you proved you were stronger than Kurt Shoals, the biggest bully in school, by beating him publicly in a wrestling match? It’s time to get back on your feet –well, hooves– and show the thing that kidnapped Mom that Aurora Borealis Sparkle-O’Riley will not go down without a fight!”

Feeling better with her internal pep-talk, Aurora increased her gait.

“Come on, guys! The sooner we get to the ruins, the more time we’ll have to explore!”

Safir and Gareth looked at each other, confused at the sight of Aurora’s expressions that landed on something cheerful. But they shrugged it off as they increased their speed to catch up with the centauride.

“Hey! Wait up!”

----------------------------------------------------------------

At the Ruins…

Thanks to the cairns and their increased speed, Aurora and the boys were able to make it to the ruins in a short amount of time. Once they were inside, they set up base camp in the “Great Hall” as they labeled it. Once they had set their things down, Aurora distributed the flashlights after giving them fresh batteries.

“So what’s the plan?”

Safir was quick to speak as he placed a claw on his chin.

“Well, we have two options. One: we split up and check a different part of this place. Or Two: we stay together and go one place at a time.”

Gareth placed his fists on his hips and sat up in a proud pose.

“I say we split up. We’ll cover more ground that way.”

But Aurora dismissed him.

“Well, I say we stick together. Yes, splitting up would cover more ground. But this place is so old that it could literally fall apart under our feet. And I don’t know about you, but I’d feel better having someone to watch my back. Not to mention we don’t have any walkie-talkies to communicate. How would we contact each other if we get into trouble or if we find something?”

The boys could see Aurora had a point. While they did want to explore the place quickly, the fact remained that there is a reason they called this place a “ruin.” Safir looked to Gareth, who surprisingly had no objections on his part. Seeing this, the young blue dragon spoke.

“Alright. We’ll stick together.”

With that settled, the trio made up their base camp and got out a couple of pencils and papers to map their progress. Safir made a mark on one archway on the left side with his claw as they made their way down the corridor. Gareth led the way, eager to find out what was ahead. Safir was right behind him, marking the path to make sure they didn’t get lost. And Aurora worked on the map from behind. It didn’t take long before Aurora noticed something.

“Check it out. The windows are boarded shut.”

But as she went to remove one of the boards, she heard a loud “BOOM!” come from outside. Hearing this, Gareth tilted his head to listen.

“Sounds like it’s time for the storm.”

Safir looked around with his flashlight and noticed some sconces on the opposite wall.

“We can light these and save on batteries.”

Aurora looked at the sconces and frowned.

“How? We have fire, but we need fuel.”

Safir, still fixed on one sconce, approached it.

“Can I get a boost?”

Curious, Gareth grabbed Safir by the arms and lifted him up to the sconce. Once Safir was eye-level with the top of the sconce, he inhaled and exhaled a blue flame, lighting the sconce. With a smile, the dragonling looked to his friends.

“We’re in luck. There’s still some oil in these things.”

Getting the idea, Aurora took over lifting Safir while Gareth took in the room.

“What do you think this place was used for?”

Aurora shrugged her shoulders as she lifted Safir to another sconce.

“Could be anything. It’s too small to be a castle. Maybe an outpost?”

“But who would have an outpost in the middle of the Everfree Forest?”

Once again, Aurora shrugged her shoulders.

“Tactical location? Maybe there’s a clue or two here that might give us an answer.”

As Aurora relayed her theory, she and Safir finished lighting the sconces. Now the corridor was illuminated despite the boards. They also took a couple of loose boards off the windows, exposing the dim hall to the sun for the first time in ages. Well, whatever sun there was. Rain pattered on the windows and the Everfree’s trees shook as the wind blew harshly. It wasn’t enough to unnerve Aurora. Hurricanes did worse, after all.

“Hey! Check this out!” Gareth’s voice snapped Aurora’s attention back into place.

Looking ahead, she found the griffin looking past the door at the end of the hall. Curious, Aurora approached the door and peered inside. The room was empty of life, but the large table in the middle was broken in half and the large shelves were on their sides. At the other side of the room was a large cobblestone fireplace with a small iron door on the side of the wall. Thanks to her parents, Aurora knew where they were.

“Looks like the ruins’ kitchen.”

Hearing this, the boys entered the room, examining everything they could. Safir opened a ceramic jar and gagged as something foul reached his nostrils.

“Ugh! Ancient cheese! I don’t think it’s worth saving.”

Noting it, Aurora examined the fireplace and looked up the chimney.

“Well, you’ll have to either toss that outside or keep a lid on it. The chimney’s blocked. Must be a popular place for birds to nest.”

Gareth, meanwhile, opened the iron door and frowned. No secret passages. Just an ancient stove.

“This is boring. Let’s keep going.”

Hearing him, Aurora opened another door and found that it led to an inner courtyard. She frowned sightly as she began to close the door.

“Little one…”

A chill ran down Aurora’s spine. What did she just hear? She waited a moment before she tried to close the door again.

“Little one…”

There it was again. A voice. Soft, feminine, beckoning her. Spooked, Aurora backed away, nearly tripping over Gareth.

“Ow! What the-! Aurora!”

But Aurora’s gaze never left the courtyard door.

“Did…did you hear that?”

Gareth frowned at her.

“No. I was too busy getting trampled on by you.”

Safir looked at Aurora, wanting to take his mind off the cheese, and became concerned. Aurora looked scared. But of what?

“Aurora?” Safir asked, concerned.

Aurora kept silent, listening to anything. She heard the wind and the rain. Nothing unusual with that.

“Little one… Come to the tower…”

After a moment’s, peace, the voice called out again. And Aurora wasn’t the only one who heard it this time.

“There! Did you hear that?” Aurora asked, getting more anxious.

The two boys nodded slowly. Shivers ran down Safir’s spine while Gareth tensed up. They did hear it. How Aurora was able to pick up the strange sound was a question that was definitely for another time, according to Safir. Gareth, however, raised an eyebrow.

“I think we did. But what did it mean by ‘tower?’”

Hearing Gareth, Safir glared at the griffin chick.

“You’re not seriously thinking of following that, are you!?”

Gareth glared back at Safir in response.

“What? Scared of ghosts?”

Safir was taken aback by the accusation.

“I-I’m not! I’m just saying we need to use our heads for this!”

As the boys continued to argue, Aurora looked towards the courtyard door. She was unnerved by the voice, but at the same time she felt this urge to follow it. She wasn’t stupid. Far from it. Even though she loved to explore, she knew when to be cautious.

But that voice…

It was as if it was directed at her! It didn’t sound menacingly, but gentle. Like a guide rather than a malevolent specter. Either way, it didn’t look like it wanted her to go anywhere other than this “tower.”

“But how do we get there?” She whispered, more to herself than anything else.

Then, as if the voice answered her, something appeared in the courtyard. A faint, light blue glow appeared before moving from behind a broken statue. From what Aurora could tell, it was a floating, glowing orb of light. Seeing it, Aurora took initiative and pulled out her knife, the action catching the boys’ attention.

“Aurora?” they asked, concerned.

Aurora answered, not taking her eyes off the courtyard.

“There’s a ball of light outside. I think it wants to guide us to the tower. I figured I’d bring a weapon just in case.”

Gareth grinned widely in excitement while Safir gawked at her.

“Really, Aurora?! You really want to follow it?!”

Aurora looked to the young dragon with an apologetic look on her face.

“I know you don’t want to, Safir. If you guys want, you can go back to the main hall and start up lunch. I’m going to check this thing out.”

Hearing this, Gareth flapped his wings and flew next to Aurora.

“What? And miss out on finding something cool? Forget it! I’m going with you.” He then smirked victoriously at Safir. “You can go back, Safir. Let the real adventurers check it out.”

Safir snarled at Gareth in retaliation, but sighed in defeat.

“Even though I’d rather go back, I don’t want you guys to get into trouble either. Besides, you need my fire.”

Aurora sighed and shook her head as dragon joined her with the griffin still smirking at him.

“I hate being in the middle.” She mentally groaned before taking a step towards the door.

“We’ll have to be quick. The rain’s coming down pretty hard and I, for one, don’t want to get sick. We just follow the ball of light, find out what’s in this tower while avoiding traps and stuff, and go straight back to the main hall.”

“And if something attacks us?” Safir asked nervously.

Aurora gulped fearfully while Gareth puffed up his chest.

“Simple. We beat them up like what we did with the Timberwolves. You set them on fire, Aurora stomps and kicks them, and I slash and peck them.”

Aurora and Safir rolled their eyes in unison. One day, Gareth’s ego was going to get him into serious trouble. Not wanting to delay any further, Aurora stepped outside, followed by Gareth from the air and Safir from behind.

Comments

[OnceMore26]

Glad your back, but please do take care of yourself, your health is very important.

[ArlynntheDragon]

Good to hear from you again, mellonin.

[Yaj-652-WOD-956-FAN]

Welcome back, great chapter and I hope you are better and good health.

[EchoWing]

Glad to see you back. Sorry for all the trouble that you've been through.