• Published 7th Jul 2019
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The Magister of the Deep - The Voice in the Water



Sometimes, when the pain is too great and you cry out to the darkness, the Darkness just might reply.

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8 – Attack of the Deep

“…and that’s what’s happened.” Rarity said, her face going even paler than usual as she wrung her hands. “So many people dead… by Sunset’s hand. Ugh, I don’t even know what to think anymore.”

Rarity saw Twilight look around at the others. Like the rest of them, Twilight looked sick to her stomach. Just as she was about to reach out and comfort the princess, Twilight’s eyes suddenly shot down to glare at the gem embedded in her right hand, her features twisting into an angry grimace, before turning sullen.

“It’s sword logic…” Twilight hissed as she finally turned her attention back to the Rainbooms. “She’s using sword logic.”

“What’s sword logic? Sounds… dangerous.” Pinkie said.

“It’s… hold on…” Twilight turned her attention back to her hand, nodding periodically before returning her attention to her friends. “The gist of it is that the more Sunset kills, the more power she gains.”

“What? But how?” Rainbow asked.

“Remember what I said about what’s happened to her? How she was taken by the Deep?” The others nodded solemnly. “From what The Aegis's told me, sword logic is the underlying principle of how the Deep defines its reality. By killing something that represents a thing, you definitively prove yourself stronger than that thing, and gain the power to defeat anything that is defined as a part of or subordinate to it.”

“So by killing Celestia and Luna…” Rainbow began.

“…because they represented the school, by the sword logic, she definitively proved herself stronger than the school, and everyone in it.” Twilight concluded. “And by killing all of those people representing the best of their countries…”

“… she’s proven herself stronger than those nations.” Applejack concluded.

“My goodness.” Rarity mumbled. “Is she really becoming that powerful? Is there really nothing we can do to stop her?”

“There’s no we here Rarity. I have to stop her. I’m the only one armed with the means to do it.” Twilight said as she lifted her arm and presented the blue gem embedded in the back of her metallic limb to the others, before lowering it back to the table, her face grim. “You’re not paracausal. She is. Thanks to the sword logic, if she came after you, there’d be nothing you could do to fight back, because she's defined herself as stronger than you. Only something that abides by a different set of paracausal principles has a chance to beat her.”

“But, Twlight, darling,” Rarity said quietly, “even if you’re the only one, how will you find her? It’s not like she’s just going to show up and challenge you to a fight…”

At that, Twilight sunk into her chair, and began rubbing her hands together.

“I’m not sure Rarity. My guess is she’ll come for us sooner or later. The Aegis is of the Sky, and Sunset’s of the Deep. The two are opposites, and cannot abide the presence of the other.”

“But until then, she’s just going to keep getting stronger and stronger.” Rainbow said. “Can’t we, I don’t know, lure her here somehow?”

Twilight opened her mouth to speak, but suddenly turned her attention back to her hand. She was silent for almost a minute before exclaiming, “What? No, we can’t. I won’t put them in danger like that!”

The others all looked at her with a mixture of trepidation and confusion as Twilight went silent again.

“Even if it does, they’d be defenseless, and so would I!” Twilight growled through clenched teeth, before falling silent again.

“What’s she…” Rainbow whispered to Fluttershy.

“No, it’s not! There has to be another way to…” Twilight snarled, then stopped as though interrupted.

“And if it doesn’t work? Then what?” Twilight demanded, her brows furrowing even deeper.

“Fine, I’ll ask them.” Twilight grumbled. “The Aegis knows a way to… challenge Sunset. But… if it works, she'll be out for blood. She'll be coming to kill us. I can’t make you take that risk, but if you’re willing, it might give us the opportunity to stop her…”

*Lake Everfree, one hour later*

Fluttershy’s van came to a halt in the parking lot, the tires crunching on the frozen gravel. As the doors opened, the Rainbooms emerged, each one shivering as they left the warm confines of the vehicle. Last to emerge was Princess Twilight, her arms wrapping around herself to stave off the cold. Even with the winter jacket and pants Rarity had provided her, the frigid air still nipped at her face and hands.

Glancing around the parking lot, she spotted the familiar shape of a red and black motorcycle, its frame crowned with a thick layer of snow.

“That’s Sunset’s bike.” Rainbow said as she walked up to the machine and dusted off some of the snow.

“Yea, it is. Looks like she came here… and never left.” Twilight said, her voice both venomous and sad, allowing the implication to linger in the air.

The other girls winced, but didn’t say anything.

Twilight paid them no mind as she looked out across the snowy ground towards the edge of the lake.

“Is this it?” she asked, but not towards the Rainbooms.

Yes, this is the place. The Aegis said into her mind, I can feel it. This is where your friend was taken. Down there, by the water.

Twilight looked where The Aegis was directing her, and her stomach turned. She could feel it in the air through her link to The Aegis. The remnant of the wound in reality still lingered in this space, polluting it with the Deep’s poison. As if drawn to it like a moth to a flame, Twilight began to slowly walk towards the tear, only vaguely aware of her friends following behind. As she reached it, she could feel the familiar, sickening sensation of taken energy lingering on the ground like a coat of rancid grease.

“Twilight… look.”

Turning her head, Twilight spotted Pinkie Pie pointing to the lake’s shore, now covered in a thin layer of ice. And sticking out of that ice was an ornate, gold-gilded book bearing a familiar sunburst. Twilight’s stomach sank at the sight of it. It was Sunset’s half of the journals. It certainly explained why the ink in her copy had bled out across the pages.

Twilight turned her head away, unable to bear looking at it. This was, beyond a shadow of a doubt, the spot where Sunset had met her end. Where the girl she knew had disappeared, and where something horrible beyond imagining had taken her place.

“Twilight, are you…” Twilight heard Fluttershy say as the other girl put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“No, Fluttershy… I’m not okay. I’m really not.” Twilight said as she choked back a sob. Even without looking, she could tell that the sentiment was shared among all present. With a sigh, Twilight steeled herself and turned to the others. Her grief could wait.

She… they had a job to do.

Taking a brief glance at The Aegis, Twilight lifted her head and addressed them.

“Alright. This is it. If we can summon our magic, the feedback into the wound the Deep left in reality will alert Sunset, and hopefully draw her to us.” Twilight said, pushing down the trepidation in her voice. “This is your last chance to turn back. I can’t force you to do this, so I’ll ask you again: are you willing to risk your lives to stop this? To stop Sunset?”

There was a moment of silence among the others as Twilight’s words faded into the cool afternoon air. Nobody seemed willing speak as a cold breeze passed through the group.

“I am.”

To everyone’s surprise, it was Fluttershy that spoke. Her voice was different than usual: clear, hard and spoken with conviction.

“I can’t speak for the others, but I can’t turn back. Not now. We lost Sunset because we couldn’t let go of the past, and now… now it’s come back to threaten everyone. I can’t let that happen. We helped create this mess… and now, we have to fix it.”

Nodding, Twilight looked at the others.

“Ah admit, ah’m scaert.” Applejack said, her hands clenching into fists. “But, this has to be done. Ah would be lyin’ if I said that ah didn’t feel like this were mah fault, but that don’t matter now. We have to stop her, before there’s nothin’ left to save.”

“We all share part of that blame, darling.” Rarity said, “but you’re right. No matter who’s fault it is, this must end. If not for our sake, then for our families and friends. I’m with you Twilight.”

“I made Sunset cry.” Pinkie said, her voice morose. “I helped take away her smile. But I can’t let her do the same for the rest of the world. I can’t let her take away anyone else’s smiles.”

“… I should have stood by her, y’know?” Rainbow said as her eyes stayed locked on the frozen journal. “She trusted us. Even after everything we did to her after the Fall Formal. All the abuse, the name calling, the payback, she still wanted to show us that she’d turned around. And we threw it all away because we couldn't let go of who she used to be. Now, she’s gone. I won’t lose anyone else because of our… my mistake. I’m with you Twilight, till the end.”

Twilight’s smile became warm. Stepping forward, she opened her arms, inviting the others to join her in a group hug. With only a moment’s hesitation, the others came forward, their arms entwining around the others.

“Thank you, girls.” Twilight said. “Regardless of what happens next, thank you.”

After a few moments, the Rainbooms separated, and walked back up the hill to the parking lot. Steeling themselves, they opened the van and pulled out their instruments, carefully setting them up in a makeshift circle, with Twilight in the center. She looked around one final time, silently asking the others if they were still up to it. They all returned her look with determination. They were ready.

“Pinkie, count us off.” Rainbow said.

“Right. Everybody. One, two, one, two, three, four!” Pinkie shouted as she struck her drumsticks together, before launching into their signature song.

“Once upon a time” Applejack sang, “You came into my world and made the stars align.”

“Now I can see the signs” Rarity continued, the familiar tune filling her with energy. “You pick me up when I get down so I can shine!”

“Shine like rainbows.” All of the Rainbooms sang.
“Shine like rainbows.
Shine like rainbows.
Shine like rainbows.”

“Friends, you are in my life.” Rainbow picked up, the thrum of Equestrian magic beginning to fill her body as she and the other girls were lifted into the air. “And you can count on me to be there by your side.”

“And when the music comes alive!” Twilight sang out, her equine features popping into existence at the same time as the others. “We sing our songs to lift us up so we can shine.”

“And the sound that we hear in our hearts.” The rainbooms sang as the transformation completed, their pony features fully manifested.
“Makes a crescendo,
And the light that ignites in the dark.
It makes us all glow,
And shine like rainbows.
We shine like rainbows,
Shine like rainbows.”

As their voices continued to fill the cold air, a swirling vortex of rainbow light began to build up around them.

“We shine like rainbows
Together we stand
As the rain begins to fall
And holdin' our heads up high
As the sun shines through it all”

The rainbow burst outward in a glowing, polychromatic shock-wave, spreading across the snowy landscape.

“And the sound that we hear in our hearts
Makes a crescendo
And the light that ignites in the dark
It makes us all glow
And shine like rainbows
We shine like rainbows
Shine like rainbows
We shine like rainbows
We shine like rainbows”

And with that final line, the music died down, and only the late winter silence filled the air. The Rainbooms stood there for a moment, waiting.

“Do you think it…” Rarity began, before a low, mournful wail drifted across the landscape as a smothering, oppressive fog appeared out of nowhere and blanketed the lake. It was a wail that two of the group knew all too well, and one the rest knew from their accounts, and the tragedy in Karera.

“Krreeeeeeee-eeeeeee-aaaaaaaaauuuuuuuuunnnnnnnngh…thoomb!”

Even knowing what was about to happen, the Rainbooms were unprepared for the horrific shrieking and eruption of dark energy that burst forth from the air above Lake Everfree like a bloody pustule. In the wake of the sound, was the one they had wanted to call.

There, in all of her terrifying glory, was Sunset Shimmer, held aloft by her slowly flapping, mismatched wings. The Rainbooms stood there, transfixed, as they stared at the entity before them. The entity that had once been their friend. And now? Now stood as possibly the greatest threat they had ever faced.

They had thought they were prepared for this, and yet, nobody quite knew what to do. They had expected Sunset to attack them as soon as she arrived. They had expected to fight for their lives. To hope that whatever was preventing Twilight from using that strange weapon she had brought would be overcome and would give them a way to stop the madness.

But Sunset didn’t attack.

Instead, she simply hovered there, her arms folded across her chest as she glared down at them. If anything, she almost looked… disappointed, somehow.

From its place in her arm, Twilight could feel The Aegis’s rage. It wished to be unleashed, but still, its power was contained, blocked by the “impurity” of Twilight’s intent. Twilight’s mind raced as she desperately tried to understand what was impure about her thoughts.

She needed The Aegis's power. And she needed it now!

“Sunset…”

All eyes turned to the source of the voice. It was Fluttershy.

“Sunset… please. I’m sorry. I can’t imagine what you've been through, but I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled at you. I shouldn’t have turned you away. I’m sorry. I’m so, so, sorry. Please, believe me.” She plead as she reached a hand out towards her fallen friend.

Sunset’s head cocked to the side as she regarded Fluttershy.

“We all are!” Pinkie chimed in, “We know it wasn’t you! We should have listened! We should have trusted you! I know there’s nothing we can do to make this up to you, but really, we…”

Pinkie never finished her sentence, as the air was soon filled with the sound of a low, raspy chuckle. All of the girls held their breath as Sunset’s giggles drifted through the still air, before turning into a full blown, wailing cackle as she threw her head back and her arms wide. All of the girls slapped their hands over their ears in an attempt to drown out the sound, Fluttershy and Rarity curling up on themselves in the process. Soon, the sound died down, and the six of them looked at Sunset.

Sunset still just hovered there, glaring at them, before slowly turning her head back in the direction of Canterlot City. All the girls could do nothing but stare and ponder what was going on.

None of them could have anticipated the bright flash of light that suddenly erupted from the horizon, followed by a deep, shallow roar. Moments later, the air shook with a distant shockwave as a massive mushroom cloud filled the sky. Turning back to the Rainbooms, Sunset’s face twisted into a horrific smile. Lifting her hand, she pointed at Twilight, then swung her arm to point at the deadly plume off in the distance. An instant later, she was gone, vanishing back into the Deep, leaving the Rainbooms to watch the slowly subsiding aftermath of atomic destruction.

*Two hours ago, Hidden Government Server Farm, somewhere in the New Mexicolt Desert*

As the final notes of her death song faded, The Magister regarded the building below her. This was one of the last of her targets, and the penultimate stage in her plan to fulfill the Deep’s will. The other had identified this as one of the largest datahubs on the planet, but not one for the general public. No, this belonged to the U.S.E.’s military, and helped control one of the deadliest tools in their arsenal: the government’s stockpile of nuclear weaponry, both in the U.S.E.’s territory, and hidden in submarines patrolling the oceans.

For the past few days, she and the other had struck similar facilities across the world, using the chaos she’d sown by attacking the Olympics and the U.N. as a cover. Each facility hit controlled some aspect of its nation’s military might, be it combat drones, intercontinental ballistic missiles, biological weapons, satellite networks… or nuclear armaments.

Slowly descending, The Magister floated past the desiccated remains of the hundreds of soldiers and engineers she’d just killed as she made her way towards the central server hub. There was a certain sense of satisfaction in her chest as she simply phased through the door to the server farm building, and she floated inside. Landing and folding her wings, The Magister began making her way deeper into the structure, a trail of writhing blight springing up as she passed, the tendrils reaching out like a living thing to slowly wrap themselves around everything in her wake, covering it with the Deep’s beautiful corruption.

More doors and more locks attempted to bar her way, but proved to be no obstacle as she simply phased through each. It was almost embarrassingly easy.

Soon, she reached her goal, and she took a moment to admire the sight before her. In the massive room below the catwalk where she now stood, hundreds of towers ran up and down the length of space, filling the air with the drone of cooling fans and flashing lights, each one representing so much potential death. It was a glorious sight, and such a wonderful expression of the Deep’s most sacred principles: the complete destruction of a foe.

Yes, this would be the final piece.

Sending out a silent call to the other, the Magister waited for their arrival. Within moments, the glorious sound of the Deep’s sacred space breaching into this reality filled the air. The sound crashed in a crescendo, heralding the arrival of the other. Without looking behind herself, the two of them stepped forward and turned face to face.

Lifting their hands into the air, The Magister and the other began to gather power, before thrusting their hands towards the space between them, her fingers splayed. A wave of the Deep’s power rushed out of them, and gathered into a sphere. Turning their attention to the servers, they unleashed the sphere into the center of the room, where it erupted into a mass of writhing tendrils. Moments later, the tendrils lashed downward, each one piercing a server. With a push, the Magister forced the Deep's will onto the computers, while the other executed a complex series of computations. Hundreds of carefully concocted failsafes and firewalls proved no obstacle as they slipped through the cracks in the programs and wormed their way deeper into the system.

Soon, they reached the core file repository, but they didn’t stop. Spreading out like the roots of a tree, their power penetrated each of the servers, modifying and rewriting the code. In an instant, it was done, and they withdrew from the system. As they did, a small smile gracing the Magister’s face as her body convulsed in anticipation. The blight was now spreading through the network, worming its way towards the hidden silos, through satellites and to waiting submarines. And into the waiting weapons.

She just needed to wait for the infection to be complete. And that wouldn’t take much time.

The other regarded the servers impassively, its features unreadable.

Sending a silent command to the other that they were leaving, The Magister prepared to depart, only to stop as she gripped the side of her head as pain stabbed into her consciousness. Hissing, she shook the sensation away, slowly realizing what it was that she felt. Turning towards the irritant, she glared.

Like a shard of glass in her eye, she could feel it. The sickening presence of the Sky and its weakling ally Harmony, burning like a beacon in the night.

Somehow, in some way, she could tell that the Sky had sent one of its agents to this world. And said agent was intentionally unleashing its power. Right into the Deep’s sacred realm.

The Magister hissed with rage. The Sky’s servants had done it. They had found a way to bring more of the Sky’s power to this world. But more than that, it was something else. For as long as the Sky and the Deep had battled, such an act only have one meaning.

It was a challenge.

Whoever bore the Sky’s power, they knew the ways of the Deep. They were challenging her to a fight.

Looking back to the servers, the other, and the rapidly spreading blight, The Magister couldn’t help but chuckle. The Sky wanted to challenge her? So be it. She would give her response.

Turning to the other, the Magister silently conveyed her orders, before vanishing into the Deep.

*The road to Canterlot City, 20 minutes after detonation*

Fluttershy barreled down the road at breakneck speed, terror in her eyes. The others were all on their phones, scouring the news for reports of the attack, or desperately trying to reach family members in fleeting hope that they had somehow escaped the blast. Nobody spoke. There was nothing to say.

From what they found, it was bad. New reports of thousands of missile strikes, both nuclear and ballistic, on civilian, government and military centers worldwide were flooding in, describing an inexplicable and simultaneous strike by every nuclear armed nation around the globe. Stranger still, some of the missiles had detonated in the upper atmosphere, leaving inexplicable clouds of glowing, black energy that spread through the atmosphere like a cancer. Other reports told of drone strikes hitting harbors, reservoirs, dams, power plants and other essential infrastructure were flooding in. Attacks that would cripple the world’s ability to feed and power itself.

It was an apocalypse.

And nobody but the Rainbooms knew who had unleashed it. But these six girls knew the truth: somehow, someway, it was Sunset.

Sitting in the back of the van, Twilight stared down at her hands.

Child of Harmony, I can feel it… The Aegis whispered into her mind. All across this world, life is being snuffed out. The weapons that taken unleashed, they were blighted with the Deep's power. It's spreading like a plague, poisoning everything. This world will not be able to support life for much longer.

Twilight fought down an urge to vomit.

I'm sorry Child of Harmony, but we cannot save this place. The only thing we can do now is destroy the one responsible.

This… this was too much. She had held onto hope that things could work out. That she could reach Sunset. That there was something left of her friend. Something that hadn’t been taken by the Deep.

But she was wrong.

She was sure of it.

Sunset. Her friend. The girl she had offered her hand in friendship. The one she had seen turn her life around. The girl who she had once saved from the darkness of hate, and had saved her in turn when she was at the mercy of the Sirens. That Sunset… was gone.

Sunset was gone.

And she was never coming back.

Twilight was jolted out of her brooding as Fluttershy slammed on the breaks and skidded to a halt. Looking out the front window of the van, Twilight saw why they’d come to a stop.

“Oh my god…” Fluttershy whispered.

They had come over the mountain pass leading Canterlot City, and could finally see their home. Or rather, what was left of it.

The Rainbooms slowly emerged from the van into the hot, ash filled air, and could only stare in mute horror at the remains of the city. In the epicenter, nothing remained but a black, smoldering crater. Buildings lay shattered and burning outside the site of the impact, filling the sky with angry black smoke from thousands of fires. Even on the outskirts, structures lay shattered and destroyed. And throughout it all, patches of black, shimmering corruption coated everything like oil, with hundreds of the black spheres of blighted energy filling the sky, some nearly half a mile in diameter.

The sight was too much for them. Rainbow collapsed to her knees, too shocked to even comprehend what she was seeing. Rarity quietly and suddenly fainted on the spot. Fluttershy collapsed to the ground, covering her face, wailing in despair. Applejack turned away from the others and threw up on the pavement. Pinkie simply stared, completely dumbfounded as her hair deflated and fell into a limp mass.

Twilight slumped against the side of the van as she processed the situation. This was too far. Nopony… nobody deserved this. Staring out at the devastation before her, Twilight felt something in her soul break, and for the first time in her life, she knew, with absolute certainty, that she couldn’t let this continue.

That thing… wasn’t Sunset Shimmer. Not anymore. Discord had been right all along: Sunset was gone. Now, there was only a shadow, a twisted mockery that had defiled the memory of her friend. And that twisted shadow of hate and death. It could not be allowed to continue existing.

It had to be stopped.

She, Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship, would kill the thing that had once been Sunset Shimmer.

There simply was no other way.

Child of Harmony. She could hear The Aegis’s voice clearly. You are pure.

A deep, shocked gasp escaped from Twilight’s throat as she felt a pulse of energy radiate from The Aegis and spread through her body with a heartbeat. A second soon followed. Her vision swam as the energy coursed through her. Faster and faster it spread, filling her with the Sky’s power.

All around her, she could vaguely hear the Rainbooms cry out in shock, but couldn’t find the energy to care. All that she could focus on was The Aegis pouring the Sky's power into her.

It is time.

Then the world went white as a flash of energy erupted from The Aegis, and wrapped her in a cocoon of radiant light.

Arise… Guardian

Author's Note:

Yea, that just happened.

As to why The Magister did what she did, hear me out. Remember the Deep's goal, and therefore the Magister's, is to wipe out all life on the planet. She knows that she, alone, doesn't have the capacity. But, as has been established, Sunset was a strategist, and could devise complex plans. The Magister retains Sunset's intelligence and mental capabilities, but this intellect has been all but completely subsumed by the Deep's will, and is directed solely towards the Deep's goals. And having lived in the human world for so long, why wouldn't she know about the destructive potential of the world's military, and their nuclear weaponry. After serendipity dropped the other (which will be addressed soon) into her lap, she realized that claiming the world's arsenal and turning it on them was the most efficient way to scour the planet clean of life.

We're in the home stretch here.