Nothing Ever Truly Fades...

by Archmage Ansrit

Looming Dangers

A small pillar of light rose from the center of the circle near Fluttershy's cottage. Out of the light came a small, drop or flame-shaped creature that floated above the ground.

It was grey, barely larger than a foal, with two arms that ended in wicked-looking blue scythe-like blades. Its small, green eyes peered absently into the distance while the jagged line of its mouth contributed to its blank expression. The peaceful energies sweeping away its old desires.

Until it heard a chicken cluck rather loudly.

A frown appeared on its visage, slowly floating towards the source of the sound with a hungry look on its eyes. It did not hunger for food, for it didn't need physical sustenance.

No, as anyone aware of their origins would know, monsters could draw nourishment from the ambient instead.

"Now Elizabeak, don't make such a fuss." A soft voice said, making the small pangs of hunger increase. "Yes, I feel something odd, but that's no excuse to act like that."

The soft voice continued saying something, but the small cinders of the old hate that birthed it were gaining strength, drowning out the words.

Soon, it saw the origin of the voice, a small, winged yellow equine surrounded by chickens in a coop. It was vaguely aware of the equine's capacity for energy - whatever the pink-haired creature was, it was packed with it- but it was blinded to its significance by those old fires.

The creature was distracted - not that the monster could understand, but making no noise ensured that the equine wouldn't find out about the presence of the intruder...

Until the various animals started to make noise, one of the chickens in particular flailing about, trying to get the equine to turn around. Which it did, and it gasped in surprise.

A rabbit white as snow stood in front of the approaching monster, moving its limbs about trying to mime a message.

The monster couldn't understand, of course, no matter how hard it stared at the rabbit or how close it floated to it. Not yet, anyways.

All it understood was the overwhelming desire to raise its scythe...

*****

To my most faithful student:

There has been a strange surge of foreign magic all across Canterlot, and I fear that the rest of Equestria, too, is experiencing the same phenomenon. I would like to request that you and your friends stay alert as to any strange events that might arise from this and report to me your findings, no matter how small or ridiculous they may appear. I have asked the same of other acquaintances in different cities, particularly professors of magic, but one can never be too safe.

So far, there has been no negative interference with any naturally-occurring magical phenomenons nor the inherent or acquired abilities of the residents of Equestria, suggesting that this new influx of energy is more similar to an aura or presence than a spell or comparable arcane activity. Of course, no single being could produce such a uniform, nigh-omnipresent aura without being extremely powerful and skilled, however, it feels less consistent that what a single source could produce. My sister has proposed the idea of multiple sources so similar to one another that they blend together, yet remaining distinct enough that the energy forms its own 'tides' and 'currents', which would produce variations in the characteristic alignment of the flowing energy without changing its overall density.

Needless to say, be careful Twilight.

Love

Celestia Gloria Solaris, Headmistress of the Royal Canterlot Academy of Magical Studies.

*****

"Oh! This is serious, Spike!" Twilight Sparkle, unicorn scholar and recipient of the previous letter, nervously trotted in place.

"Well, I admit that not signing the letter 'princess Celestia' is odd, but doesn't that just mean she doesn't want you to feel like it's some sort of royal duty?" Spike, a small purple dragon and Twilight's number-one assistant, tried calming her down before she had an 'episode'.

"That is the thing!" She turned around to see him to the eye, then her voice dropped to a whisper, as they were still in a public space. "She's scared, and if she's scared, what-?"

"Whoa there." Spike interrupted her, whispering as well, waving a claw around and massaging his temples with the other. "Scared? Seriously?"

"Read the letter again, you know her just as well as I do. Look at the strokes of her quill, the tone of her words." To tell the truth, Twilight Sparkle was also scared, even before the letter had arrived.

As Spike scanned the letter, Twilight once more looked all around her, at Spike, at the ponies walking about.

Colors, swirls she hadn't seen before... well, she guessed she had always seen them, only now she was aware of them - ever since the change. Equestria had always been a certain way, and now that it was a different way... she didn't know, maybe the change drew attention to itself? To the things she had always seen but ignored?

Spike gulped, finally getting what Twilight was hinting at. "Sh-should we get the others?"

"Yes, we need to warn them." The thought of her friends managed to get her to focus. "Come, Spike, I can see Rarity, and Sugarcube Corner isn't very far."

*****

"Just like that?" The bat-winged pony asked, incredulous.

"The passing of the Lost Magics may normally be highly significant, a sign of recognition from a Sage to another as being the successor whom will take up their Wand... or they might do so to a hero at the world's twilight." The yellow pony replied.

"But it isn't the safest way to go on about things; Sages are powerful, yes, but not invincible." He continued, paging through a book with his nose. "We are still weak from this... unwilling travel and sudden change."

"You are going to need all the help you can possibly get." Leonard's mother added. They had kept their magic, even to the point of feeling like they still held their Wands, only in the middle of their heads (it was as odd to experience as it was to describe)... but casting runes was awkward now that they were quadrupeds, Leonard found a roundabout way by means of using a stick as he would a staff or wand and use it to draw the rune.

"As the Head, I have the power to appoint a replacement should something unexpected happen to another of the Sages." He looked displeased as he perused the book. "It was surprising that one of our own would turn against the rest like that, though."

"Doesn't the recipient need to prove his or her worth in combat?"

"We already did. What, putting on such a convincing show for Seneka wasn't enough demonstration of skill?"

"Well, that is enough for Light, but what about the other elements?"

"Didn't you always spar with each other to keep yourself sharp, son?"

"Well, I did, mother."

"Have you won any such battles?"

"Yes..."

"Did you hold back?"

"Of course not!" Leonard said, only to slowly realize that, if he didn't hold back, then neither did the others. Master of Mist Curtain, General of Gravel Rock... and certainly not Lord of the Summer Haze! That woman did everything intensely! Windcaller Priestess was also pretty good for being so young.

"Ah, my monsters were also weakened, every last one of them." Russell said, closing his book with a hoof, pushing it into his bag with his nose.

"Why don't you use your magic?" Leonard asked.

"I... was never good with precise levitation." He confessed.

"You mean to tell me that Bishop of the White Night, Head of the Seven Sages and one of the greatest Magi, can't hold a book?" Leonard snorted when he suppressed a laugh, a small grin forming at the revelation.

"Well, unlike Jester of the Prime Moon, I saw no need to use magic when I could just reach the high shelf." He retorted, and even Leonard's own mother chuckled.

"Very funny." He deadpanned. "Anyways, I have some new monsters we captured in case we saw you again, but I didn't have the chance to pass them over... guess it was a good thing I didn't."

"I concur. In any case, we can still use magic, but it has been weakened by our state and is awkward to cast due to our form; we have our guardian monsters, but they have been similarly weakened, as has been our control over them... until we gain new strength to go with this new world, it would be best if we just used a small amount."

"I have something else you can use." Leonard's mother said.

"Mother, you don't mean... the Trio Runes?"

"Surely you can figure out the combinations faster than the kid, maybe those old poems hold the key?"

"Had I heard anyone else offer me the knowledge of the method to use three runes in a single spell, I would likely have dismissed it as myth." Russell said. "But given that you predate the Sages and we have become creatures of 'myth' ourselves, I see no point in questioning it."

Now, the plan was taking shape.

Author's Note:

I just wanted an excuse to drop the titles of the six element Sages in the game. Especially since "White Night's Bishop" sounds totally awesome.

Also, I came up with my own version of Celestia's full name, and Luna's would be Luna Bella Noctis, in case you're wondering.

Comments

[AssortedCreme]

Ah, Lostmagic. One of the best games on the DS, easily.
Here's a spell combination you may not know about- Use the lost magic of one element, then the lost magic of the opposite element, then the lost magic of the first element again to form a trio rune. You can oneshot the Diva if you get close enough.

[Archmage Ansrit]

1792073 I know all of the combos, including the summons, and that rune combination has the inconvenience of becoming useless if Diva teleports away - which she will if you get too close too long after her previous teleport. Still, whacking things to submission with Issac's little boy wrists while invincible is hilarious.