The View Over Atlantis

by Zobeid

Friendship and Witchcraft

Trixie stared back at the woman, evaluating her. She was plump, very pale-complected, but freckled, red-haired. She wore a black frock with ornate moon-and-star decorations, and a large crystal hung as a pendant from her neck. She was also most definitely not a unicorn or, indeed, any sort of equine.

Trixie opened her mouth and managed to stammer, “I… uh… The Great and Powerful Trixie is pleased to make your acquaintance.” Her mind was still whirling, though, as an awful thought pieced itself together. Moondancer was a classical unicorn name. Her clothing, her crystal pendant, even the greeting she had spoken, all seemed like things one might expect from a unicorn pony — indeed, not just any random unicorn, but a professional spellcaster such as Trixie herself. The impression was of one who delved deeply into magic and wanted everypony else to know it.

Trixie had never heard of a reverse conversion, of a pony being transformed into a human. The thought hadn’t even seriously occurred to her until this moment. What would be the purpose?

Moondancer must have noticed some befuddled expression on Trixie’s features. She asked, “Are you all right?”

Trixie couldn’t quite bring herself to say out loud what she suspected. “Yes, Trixie is fine! She had been led to expect another unicorn, that’s all. Moondancer sounds like a unicorn name.”

The woman laughed and said, “I hadn’t thought of that. I’m sorry to disappoint you. Well, Trixie sounds to me like a human name.”

Trixie blinked, even more uncertain now. “It does?”

“It’s a nickname for Beatrix, isn’t it? It means traveller or wanderer.”

“Err… It does? I mean, no… My name is just Trixie. It’s not a nickname; it’s merely a name for a pony who does tricks.”

“I see. Well, at least you’re not a one-trick pony!” She giggled, but Trixie’s blank stare showed that she didn’t get the joke. “Ahem, well… Abdel told me about you, and I’ve been looking forward to meeting you. I hope we can learn a lot from one another.”

Trixie’s tail switched indecisively, then she blurted, “Trixie was told you are an adept. How is that possible? You don’t have a horn; how can you cast spells?”

“Trixie, I’m Wiccan. My magic is witchcraft.”

Trixie took a step back, ears flattened, and squeaked, “You’re a witch?”

“Don’t you have witches in Equestria? But you know what the word means.”

“We have stories about witches, just old fairy tales. Witches are supposed to ride on flying broomsticks, and make potions in bubbling cauldrons, and cast hexes and put the evil eye on ponies. Fillies dress up as witches on Nightmare Night. But none of that is real.”

Moondancer nodded. “We have silly stories like that here too. But if you want to find out what it’s really all about, I’ll be happy to explain.” She smiled and added, “I’d like to learn about unicorn magic too, even if I can’t cast the spells myself.”

“Trixie, ah… supposes there is no harm in that. She will most likely be returning to Equestria soon, though.”

Moondancer’s smile faded. “Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. Is anything wrong?”

“It’s… No, not wrong as such. Why don’t you go ahead and get settled in, and then Trixie will explain?”

After Moondancer had put her bags in her room and freshened up, the two of them met in the lounge to continue their conversation. Trixie gave a somewhat biased account of her initial examination of the stone circle. She concluded, “Trixie could detect no trace of magic at all. Either the magic of your world doesn’t interact with unicorn magic, or the stone circle is in such ruin that it can no longer function at all.”

Moondancer countered, “The henges predate even the ancient Wicca by thousands of years, but we hold them as sacred places of power. I promise you, there is magic in that circle.”

“Be that as it may, the Great and Powerful Trixie is always in demand and has other calls on her time and expertise. Remaining here does not seem fruitful.”

“Ah well. I’m sorry that I won’t get to spend more time with you. Meanwhile, where is Ivan? I thought he would meet me here too.”

“He is at the stone circle, supervising the machinery.”

“Machinery?” Moondancer’s eyes went wide. “They haven’t started work on the site yet, have they?”

“Trixie should imagine they have. All the machines and their operators were ready to begin this morning when Trixie departed.”

“What, didn’t they have any kind of ceremony to consecrate it?”

“umm… Ivan said they didn’t have any groundbreaking ceremony planned.”

“That doesn’t make sense. He should know better.” Moondancer stood up. “I’ve got to get up there and see what they’re doing!” She started toward the door, then stopped and asked, “Trixie, do you know the way? Can you show me?”

“If you will allow Trixie a moment to retrieve her hat and cape, she will assist you.”

They could hear the sound of machinery in the distance as soon as they were out the door. “Hop in my car!” Moondancer said. After a bit of magical fumbling with the door handle, Trixie got in the passenger side of the little electric convertible, and they sped down Castle Lane.

All around the stone circle, the green field was marred with brown excavation, with a couple of JCBs scraping at the earth and pushing it about. Ivan was easy to spot, and as soon as Moondancer was out of the car she made a beeline to him, and Trixie followed.

As soon as he noticed them, his eyes went wide and he jumped back in a comically exaggerated gesture of surprise, hands raised. “Ye gods! Can this be Moondancer? I was expecting someone… shorter…”

“I’m Moondancer!” she acknowledged, “and we’ve met, though it’s been some years ago.”

“Uhh… Have we now?”

She spoke loudly over the noise of a JCB running nearby. “It was more than ten years ago at Glastonbury, at the Swan Circle. Not that you’d remember. I wasn’t a High Priestess with my own coven back then, was I?”

Ivan pursed his lips and scratched at his beard. “I suppose congratulations are in order. And Abdel sent you to do what now?”

“For starters, to hold a convocation and bless this project at its inception — but it seems I’m a little late for that. Trixie said you didn’t even hold a groundbreaking ceremony!” She glared accusingly.

“Well, no… It would have been nice, but we’re pressed for time here. We’ve already had too many delays.”

“Nice? It would have been nice? Did you plan this at all? We don’t even have a full moon. And Mars is in ascension! It’s in Sagittarius for heaven’s sake! Do you know what that means?”

“Ahhh… Honestly, haven’t a clue.”

She sighed and covered her face with her hand for a moment, then shook her head and said, “This doesn’t bode well. To bring this circle back to its potential, it’s not just about moving soil and rocks around; it has to connect with the spirits!”

Ivan raised his hands, defensively. “See here, luv… Spirits aren’t my bailiwick. I know dolmens and barrows, menhirs and trilithons, henges and cairns. They’re tangible, solid things that I can touch and measure.” He glanced up. “Hold on a moment!” He waved to one of the JCB operators and went to talk with him, gesturing at the ditch that was being excavated. Then he trotted back to Trixie and Moondancer and said, “Maybe we’d better talk this over back at the farmhouse. Or I say, we can all go to town this evening for supper and hear everyone’s perspective, don’t you think?”

Moondancer glanced at Trixie, who’d been watching and listening to the whole exchange, and then she shrugged and answered Ivan with an indifferent tone, “All right, then. I suppose we’ll see you later.”

After they had returned to the farmhouse, Trixie joined Moondancer in her room. Moondancer sighed, closed her eyes for a moment, and then made an odd gesture with her hand, as if tossing some small object away from her, while she muttered, “an it harm none”. Then she appeared to relax as if a weight had gone from her.

Trixie watched this and asked, “What did you just do?”

“Oh… I picked up some negative energy from Ivan, so I just cast it away. Don’t unicorns have anything like a negative banishing ritual?”

“Uhh… Of course! Of course we do. Trixie merely didn’t recognize it because your method is so, uh… different.”

“Ah well. A full negative energy banishing ritual needs to be performed at night when the moon is waning, and it requires some preparation. The working I just now performed is the least and most expedient of all banishings. It’s something from magic kindergarten, really. I’d be happy to walk you through it, though, if you wish.”

“That might be informative. If you please?”

“Just a moment!” Moondancer took her travel bag and pulled out a book with a silver pentagram embossed into the black cover. “This is the Book of Shadows. It records the traditions, ceremonies and workings of my order, and more.” She opened it, flipped through a few pages. From what Trixie glimpsed, it was all hand-written, not printed.

After a few moments Moondancer seemed to find what she was looking for. Sitting comfortably on the edge of her bed, she read: “This is the ancient ritual employed by the Adepts and Sages of the Inner Order. It was decreed in the Elder Ages that this Ritual be maintained in strict secrecy until the prophesied Weird Times of the Twenty-First Century, lest the Power be abused for naught. Now is the time.”

“This ritual is useful for releasing and banishing prickly annoyance, petty hostility, and ego-induced distractions of all sorts. It is often effective in regaining centering and the Inner Silence to which one aspires… err, let me skip ahead a bit…” She fell silent for a moment as her eyes skimmed the page.

“Ah, here we go! To work this Working: Make the Banishing Sign of the Python (a tuathal motion of the extended left hand, with a snappy flip of the wrist) in the precise direction of an appropriate quarter.” She demonstrated the gesture, then glanced at Trixie who was looking at her own raised hoof with a frown. “Hmm, that could be a problem. Ah well, I’m sure you can adapt the gesture to something that works for a unicorn.”

She looked back to her book and read, “As you so do, intone, ‘An it harm none…’ Project your negative energy down your arm and off from your fingertips into the chosen quarter while intoning the Word of Power from within the core of your being. Do all three actions simultaneously.”

Trixie cocked an ear toward her. “Word of power?”

“Yes! Knowledge of the Sacred Word of Power is entrusted to the few. Many may marvel at your adeptitude once you have achieved proficiency. However… The Sacred Word of Power is inconceivable and unpronounceable until your initiation.” She scratched the side of her nose and added, “Or you might figure it out and initiate yourself. Who can tell? Who could know?”

Trixie chuckled uncertainly, not quite sure if that was a joke. “Aheh… OK, what about the other part? Something about an appropriate quarter?”

Moondancer nodded and read from her book again: “The quarter into which you choose to project the energy makes an elemental difference. You can throw the irritant into the South (Fire/destruction); you can sink it in the West (Water/chaos; see EEOP Manual); you can ground it into the North (Earth/burial/sleep); or (VERY special!) you can address it to the East (Air/Spirit) [let go and let Goddess]. Choose your quarter with care. A consecrated Egyptian ritual lodestone or an ordinary Scouting compass is helpful at first.”

Trixie concealed her skepticism poorly. “How fascinating. It does seem rather complicated merely to calm an irritated mind.”

“It’s easy when you get the hang of it. Inner peace is so hard to maintain in this crazy world, anything that can help is welcome.”

The unicorn hmmed. “Trixie wonders if you could show her some example of human magic with a result that she can observe. A simple light or levitation, perhaps?”

“Ohh… Wiccan magic doesn’t work that way. Our fundamental workings are more like scrying and divination, astral projection, remedies, or calling upon various forms of good fortune.”

Trixie blinked. “That’s it, then?”

“What do you mean, that’s it? Those are the basics. Once you’ve forged a strong connection with the mystical world, anything becomes possible.”

“So… Riding on broomsticks?”

Moondancer laughed! “If only!”

---

That evening Ivan gathered up Trixie and Moondancer, as well as Smithers, and they all went into Keswick town, to the Market Square where there was a pizza kitchen — still clinging to life, despite the collapse of the tourism industry. Moondancer was also a vegetarian, as it turned out, and they all settled on onions, bell peppers and mushrooms. (“And don’t skimp on the toppings!”, Ivan had demanded while placing their order.)

With introductions and food taken care of, it didn’t take long for Moondancer and Ivan to return to their topic of earlier in the day. Ivan said, “In retrospect I do wish we’d brought you in sooner, but it wasn’t up to me. You’ve got to understand all the higher-ups in The Golden Dawn are Kemetic, not Wiccan. I’m afraid they’re always going to look askance at you, luv.”

Moondancer narrowed her eyes. “Oh, what were they planning to do? Cut-and-paste their traditions from Egypt to England?”

“Something like that. I never was quite sure how they thought it would work, but I was too wrapped up in the technical problems to worry much about that. It’s been hectic.”

Smithers interrupted, “Excuse me, but I’m adrift here. I was under the impression that all you had to do was reconstruct the monuments, and then it would — somehow, miraculously — cause the Barrier to turn back.”

Ivan raised his hands in a helpless shrug. “In the best case, one might hope so. Maybe we don’t need to cast any spells or appeal to any deities. Maybe we can just build the mechanism and get the luminiferous ether — as Katrina calls it — flowing again, and that’ll do the trick. But nobody knows for sure.” He glanced at Trixie. “We’ve learned that magic in Equestria is sometimes governed, or powered, by emotions. Maybe we’ll have to get people emotionally, or spiritually, engaged with these structures before they become effective.”

The pony spoke up, “Trixie is not certain what you mean by spiritually engaged. She has heard of situations where powerful emotions influenced the casting of spells, though.”

Ivan nodded. “As I said before, it’s not my bailiwick. I’ve been leaving that to Lord Peter and Katrina. But if you and Moondancer put your heads together, I’d love to hear whatever you can figure out about the subject.” He glanced up, and grinned. “And here comes our food. I’m ready for it!”

They divided up the pizza. To Ivan’s delight, the cheese was barely visible under the layers of veggies that had been piled on. Nibbles were quickly chased with sips of ice water. “Hot hot!” Trixie exclaimed.

While waiting for their slices to cool a bit, Moondancer said, “Trixie, I couldn’t help noticing that amazing crystal you clasped your cape with. What do you have it programmed for, if you don’t mind me asking?”

Trixie blinked. “Programmed? uhh…” Her eyes wandered to Moondancer’s pendant. “Trixie wouldn’t want to boast. Why don’t you tell me about your crystal first?”

Moondancer smiled and fingered her crystal charm delicately. “Oh, this? I’ve programmed it to enhance my spiritual growth.”

Trixie gasped. “What a coincidence! Trixie has programmed her gem to do exactly the same thing. Great minds must think alike.”

Moondancer beamed, and clapped her hands together. “It’s like we’re soul-mates!”

---

That night Ivan came to knock on Trixie’s door. When she answered, she found his face grim. “Have you turned on your telly?” he asked. She shook her head dumbly. “I think you’d better come see this,” he said.

She found everyone else in the house gathered in the lounge, eyes focused on the screen hanging on the wall there. Trixie found a seat and listened.

“Early reports indicate at least four ponies were involved in the attack. Police are still searching for a fifth, described as a gray unicorn stallion, who may have taken part. Parts of the refugee camp are still under lockdown, and an unknown number of victims are trapped, unable to receive the medical attention that they desperately need.”

“Eyewitnesses who escaped the carnage described scenes of horror, as the weaponized potion had unpredictable effects on those exposed. Some were partially transformed, while others were said to have melted.”

“The Equestrian embassy issued a statement condemning the attack in the strongest possible terms, and offering assistance in both the investigation and treatment of the survivors.”

They all watched: images of flashing lights, ambulances and stretchers, heavily armed law men, and reporters interviewing dazed and confused witnesses, and repeating the same inadequate and unreliable information, over and over.

Smithers scratched his chin. “The PER… They’ve kidnapped humans and forcibly converted them before. But never anything like this. This is madness.”

Ivan crossed his arms and brooded, his normally jovial countenance now stony, and he said nothing.

Mildred was quiet too, but clasped her hand over her mouth and shook her head as if not wanting to believe. Her fearful gaze was drawn to Trixie for a moment before she retreated, leaving the room to tend her chores elsewhere in the house.

Moondancer made some sort of arcane gesture and muttered a Wiccan incantation. Then she sat beside Trixie and petted her mane. “Are you all right, dear?” she asked softly.

Trixie started slightly at the unexpected touch, but then shook her head and said, “I feel sick.”

“Let’s switch this off!” Ivan said as he picked up the remote. The screen went blank, the sound quiet.

“I was watching that!” Smithers objected.

Ivan shook his head. “You won’t learn anything more from it today. They don’t have a clue what they’re going on about. Give it some time. Tomorrow they’ll have the story sorted.”

Smithers grunted softly. “I suppose you’re right.” He spared a sympathetic glance toward Trixie, then returned to his own room.

A brooding silence sustained for a few minutes while Trixie rested her head upon the couch cushions and Moondancer lightly stroked her mane. At length, Trixie raised her head and muttered, “I thought we were better.” The two humans looked to her questioningly, but waited patiently for her to find words.

When they came, she spoke more clearly. “I mean ponies. I thought… I thought we didn’t do things like this. I thought no pony did, no pony would.” But even as she spoke those words, they rang false. Trixie may not have been a star pupil in history class, but even she could remember the broad outlines of the Wizard Wars. Names of infamy like King Sombra and General Yarak and Malaclypse Magus came back to her. They had lived long ago, in a more brutish age. But then there was Nightmare Moon, too, in the not-so-distant past. Trixie sighed. “I was naive.”

Author's Note:

Just a small installment to prove this story isn't completely dead yet.

Comments

[ferret]

Ah, the greatest magic humanity has ever achieved, cognitive dissonance!

...such as hoping a story will be continued.

[Zobeid]

I sometimes think humanity's greatest skill just might be rationalization: doing whatever we want and then dreaming up justifications for it.

As for the story. . . I'm glad you like it. I knew it was never going to be the most popular, but it's one I want to tell, so I expect I'll stick with it.