Chronicles of the Protectors

“Come with me.” Duster commanded as he turned and made his way into the ruins.  Magia ran after him, looking all around her.  The white walls were dirtied with the burden of time.  They had crumbled to their foundations, and their windows had shattered, leaving nothing but dust and shards littering their once glorious city streets.  Rubble and structural remains lay on the ground, peppering the landscape.  Magia could do nothing but look on, helplessly, as she followed Duster.

Duster quickly led Magia to a large building in shocking contrast to the city around them.  The structure before the duo was still it's pristine white color with a gold and purple trim, capturing the immense beauty the city once held.

“How is this building so... unscathed?” Magia asked, still shocked by the contrast.  Duster opened the door and entered, prompting Magia to follow.

“This structure cannot be seen by those who lack the horn of a unicorn.” Duster answered, moving forward, deeper into the building.  Before long, Magia came to the realization that this was a library, yet not just any library.  The artistic engravings and painted murals told her the significance of this particular library.

Duster and Magia soon entered a giant domed room, lined on all sides with filled bookshelves stretching to the ceiling, as high as they could without spilling the books they held.  Magia's eyes went wide at the sight.  Never before had she seen so much accumulated knowledge in any one place before, and she realized that the stories she had heard about this library were more than true.

Bringing her gaze to the center of the room, Magia saw two other unicorns there, as well as two dragons alongside them.  Duster greeted the group in his now common stoic way, and Magia overlooked the new beings before her.

First was a very tall, light blue unicorn mare.  Her mane and tail were a strikingly bright silver, each holding a white stripe within them.  Her eyes seemed to glow a deep blue, and were nearly as sharp as Magia's.  Her cutie mark was of a crashing wave, and the colors seemed to blend wonderfully with her  coat.

The next pony was a rather average sized unicorn stallion wearing a red robe with burnt orange borders.  His mane and tail were a dark red with orange undertones, almost imitating fire itself in shape and color.  His eyes glowed a light red and orange, seeming to split color down the middle vertically. Magia noticed that his eyes were a rather unsettling shape, almost as if they were stuck in a perpetual feeling of rage.  His coat was a burnt yellow, just on the border of turning orange.  His cutie mark seemed to be of a spiraled flame, stretching recklessly across his flank.

Finally, Magia observed the two dragons beside them.  They were both male dragons, and looked nearly similar, in height, build, and appearance.  First was a brown dragon, standing nearly a foot taller than the blue mare.  His eyes were a deep red, almost intimidating Magia as she looked at them.  His underside was colored a slightly lighter shade of brown than his scales.  The other dragon had dark red scales with a burnt orange underbelly.  His eyes, in direct contrast, were a calming blue.  His gaze appeared more relaxed than the brown dragon beside him.  The most striking difference between the dragons, however, was that the red  dragon had rather large wings, while the brown dragon had none.

Magia was snapped out of her observations as Duster waved his hoof, signaling her over.  As she approached, the blue mare stood at the front of the small group, meeting her.  She looked down at Magia with rather a rather calming gaze.

“Hello. You must be Magia Sperare.” The mare said. Magia simply nodded. She smiled as she looked over Magia, “You look just like your mother...  At any rate, my name is Flood.  I suppose that Duster has told you of his earth magic abilities, if not shown you.  If you haven't guessed by my name or appearance, my specialization rests in water magic, and Sparky over there does fire.” The mare motioned toward the yellow stallion, who growled slightly as he bared his teeth toward Flood.  Magia cowered slightly at 'Sparky's' angered glance.  Flood shot her a look, almost as if to say 'don't worry about him'.  Before Magia could respond, Flood stepped away, allowing the yellow stallion to approach. Magia took a step back as his intimidating eyes met hers.

“I'm Searing Sparks. Two bits of advice for you: Don't call me 'sparky', and don't get in my way.  You follow those rules, and you and I will get along just fine.” His gaze felt as if it was boring its way into Magia's mind.  She quickly looked away, catching a sight of Searing Sparks smirking devilishly as he walked away.  As Magia looked back up, she saw Flood shoot Searing Sparks an angry glance.  Magia finally found herself working up the courage to speak.

“This is the Royal Canterlot Library, right?” Magia asked, looking around, finding herself in a stunned daze once more.  Searing Sparks rolled his eyes.

“Oh great.  We're hiding for our lives, having waited for the final member we need to overthrow Degnemico, and she's already sidetracked.”  Searing Sparks huffed at Magia.  “I should have known we'd never find a replacement as capable as--”

Flood quickly smacked Searing Sparks on the back of the head, quieting him before he could insult Magia, yet as they looked over, they saw that the message had already landed.  Magia sat on the ground, staring downward, her face overcome with a look of sadness.

“I know I'm not the unicorn my mother was, and I know that I'll never be, but from what I understand, you need me, and there aren't any more replacements after me,”  Magia straightened her pose as a look of angry determination washed over her. “so how about you quit complaining, and help me to understand exactly what is expected of me.  Degnemico killed my mother, and I will not rest until I have my vengeance. So tell me, Sparky, are you going to help out, or are you just going to stand around being useless, because I'll tell you what it looks like you're doing right now.”  Magia's eyes sharpened as she stared into Searing Sparks'.  She noticed a look of defeat glaze over his eyes as he averted his gaze.

“Sorry.”  Searing Sparks said, looking down.  Flood stood in a state of paralyzed shock, looking back and forth between Searing Sparks and Magia.  Both stunned as to how quickly Magia picked herself up and turned her attitude around, and how she was able to force Sparky to concede s easily. Flood shook her head slightly as Magia approached her.

“So, this is the Canterlot Library, yes?” Magia asked, as if putting her recent outburst completely out of her head.  Flood looked down toward her, smiling slightly.

“Yes, it is. This library was the only building protected when the city fell. Would you like to hear the story?” Flood asked, holding her smile.  Magia's smile met hers as she nodded.  “Alright.  Around ten years ago, when Celestia and Luna were overthrown, this city fell. Not just metaphorically, however.  As you can tell, the entire city fell from the mountain upon which it was perched, shattering all of the buildings, and the castle, in the process.  As it fell, however, the highest level unicorns, gathered in this library to cast one final spell.  They vowed that they would protect this library with their lives, and so they did.  The cast  the most powerful protection spell ever recorded, shielding the library from damage, as well as making it visible only to beings with unicorn horns.  It is here that we have hidden from Degnemico for all these years, waiting for our moment to make our move to overthrow them once and for all, and reunite Equestria in peace once again!”  Flood seemed to stand determinedly as she finished her story.  She caught herself, however, and glanced toward Magia.

“That's where I come in, right?”  Magia asked, tilting her head at Flood.

“Exactly.” She replied happily.  “Um... I've been meaning to ask. How much magic do you know, anyway?”  Magia's head lowered at Flood's question.

“I'm sorry... I've been imprisoned and banned from all magic use for ten years.  I've been unable to cast for so long, that I fear the skill has left me.” Magia looked up sadly at Flood, who simply returned with a smirk.

“Nonsense! Magic never truly leaves a unicorn.  Sometimes, all you need is a little jolt to get things moving again.”  Flood winked past Magia.  Before she could turn to see what was happening, Magia felt a large, sturdy hoof slam her in the back of the head.  She shook her head violently before turning to face her assailant.  It was Duster, standing behind her with his common stoic, expressionless face.  Magia felt steam shoot from her nostrils as she lowered her pose.

“Why you little--”  Magia aimed her horn directly at Duster, as she felt it charge with a teal aura.  Suddenly, she released a powerful, transparent teal wall from her horn, pushing Duster back against a bookshelf, toppling all of the books within it to the floor.  Flood looked on happily as Magia calmed herslef and came to realize that her magic was still with her.  “I did it!”

“Indeed you did!” Flood replied, “Now, as you're back up to operating status, how about a demonstration?”  Magia felt a smirk crawl across her face as Flood smiled at her.  There was a sudden outburst from the other side of the room.

“Probably nothing impressive...” Searing Sparks said, just loud enough to catch Magia's attention.  As her gaze turned to him, her eyes narrowed, and her horn filled with a teal aura.

Before he could move, every book in the shelves behind Searing Sparks flew forward, creating a wall, pushing him toward her.  She cocked an eyebrow at his grimace when they finally came face to face.  His look of frustration turned to one of shock when he felt a strange presence grip his tail tightly.  Before he could object, Searing Sparks found himself hanging in the air, just a few feet above the ground.  He scowled at her, as if to scream 'let me down'.  At Magia's command, a few books created a makeshift platform beneath Searing Sparks, as he was dropped onto it.  The book platform quickly levitated upwards, stopping as it float above a bookshelf.  The book platform quickly disassembled, sending the books flying off in every direction, landing Searing Sparks safely atop a very tall bookcase.

“Very funny!” He yelled, sounding quite annoyed, “Now let me down!” Magia sighed happily as she shook her head slowly.

“Alright. I'll let you dow--” Magia was stopped mid sentence as Flood put a hoof in front of her.

“Only if you admit that she has an impressive bout of magic!” Flood called out, smirking happily.  Searing Sparks groaned.

“What? That? All she did was levitate some books! Let's see her do something more impressive!” Searing Sparks screamed. Flood scowled at him, before turning to Magia.

“More levitation than you can do! Don't worry about what he's saying.  You did gr--” Flood stopped speaking, as Magia channeled more and more energy into her horn.

With a sudden burst, a bright teal light engulfed the library, effectively blinding Flood, Searing Sparks, and Duster, who was looking on, rather amused.  As their vision faded back in, the trio was met with an astounding sight.  The books from the shelves formed together, creating a gargantuan anthropomorphic book-golem, with a single, glowing teal bubble atop the body.  The mass of books stood, nearly seventy feet tall.  It's body, formed of leather bound tomes, seemed held together by no more than a dimly lit teal skeleton, drawing the books toward it's frame. The colossus stood attentively, as if awaiting a command.  The trio's mouths hung agape.

“Let's get Sparks down from there, shall we?” Magia called out to the golem. It seemed to nod understandingly as it turned toward the Searing Sparks.  The golem raised an arm, opening it's hand as the palm reached Searing Sparks' level.  He cautiously stepped onto it, as the colossus safely lowered him to the ground.  Searing Sparks jumped from the golem's hand when he was low enough to the ground.  He gulped audibly as his hooves touched solid ground, ending his torture with a sigh of relief.

“Lookin' a bit sweaty there, Sparky.” Flood said, playfully.  Searing Sparks sneered at her, bearing his teeth.  With his gaze locked on hers, he channeled an orange aura into his horn, causing the sweat on his body to boil off violently, leaving his coat steaming menacingly.

Magia turned her attention back to the golem.  She shot a bolt of energy from the tip of her horn, striking the bubble atop the colossus.  The bubble dissolved into the air, as the dim skeleton within the golem faded and vanished.  Magia caught the books in her aura before they collapsed to the ground, and sorted them quickly back into the bookshelves.

“Well... I must say that I've never seen anything quite like that before... Well done, I suppose.” Searing Sparks commented, clearing his throat.  “I have one quick test for you, however.  Your mother proved very useful with one particular spell, and I must ensure that you are the same.”  Magia tilted her head as Searing Sparks filled his horn with energy.  Without warning, he let loose a spiral of fire, selectively burning the bookshelf whereupon he was trapped. Within seconds, the bookshelf and all of the chronicled knowledge upon it were no more than a pile of useless ash.

The trio turned toward Magia expectantly.  She felt intimidated as the three of them eyed her, waiting for her to do something.  She racked her mind quickly, recalling all of her magical knowledge, trying to think of something to do.  Suddenly it struck her.

Magia smiled as she channeled her energy.  Her teal aura spread toward the pile of ash, encompassing it entirely.  She closed her eyes as she licked her upper lip, concentrating intently.  In a swirl of nonexistent wind, the ash began to rise from the pile, assembling itself back to what it once was.  Every shard of wood, every fiber of the leather binding, every blotch of ink in the words, all of them recreated themselves under Magia's command.  The teal aura faded, and once again, the bookshelf stood proudly, holding it's knowledge securely upon its shelves.  Magia felt a drop of sweat roll down her forehead as she opened her eyes, smiling proudly at her work.  As she looked around, she was met with approving and impressed gazes from the three unicorns.

“Very well done.” Flood said, approaching Magia's side.  Searing Sparks nodded in agreement, as Duster stood apart, nodding as well.

“Your magical prowess may indeed rival your mother's, if not surpass her.” A voice unfamiliar to Magia spoke.  “I've certainly never seen her conjure a golem of any kind. Quite impressive indeed.” Magia quickly looked toward the source of the voice, as her attention was drawn to the two dragons that she had seen when Duster led her to the library.  She had forgotten about them until now, however.  She opened her mouth to speak, but the other dragon spoke up first.

“I'm sorry.  We should introduce ourselves.” The brown dragon said.  “I am Tera' Ventus Dator, and this is Qul Ventus Dator.” He motioned to the red dragon beside him.

“Are you assistants to Duster, Sparks, and Flood?” Magia asked, intrigued.

“Yes.  We have been apprenticed since our birth.” The red dragon, Qul, said.  “I am the assistant of Searing Sparks, and Tera' is the assistant to Duster.” Magia cocked an eyebrow at this, turning toward Flood.

“Do you have a Dragon assistant, Flood?” She asked.

“I used to.” Flood replied, looking down.

“Our sister, Biq.” Terra spoke up. “She defected to Degnemico a few years ago.”

“Wait, why would an assistant to a unicorn support a guild that's completely against magic?” Magia asked, still very confused.

“We don't know.  She simply left one day.” Tera' said. He appeared saddened to recall this.

“I'm sorry.” Magia said. She quickly changed the subject.  “So, now that we're here, what exactly is the plan?”

“Alright, listen up.” Searing Sparks instructed.  “It's been rumored that there is one unicorn of the resistance out there somewhere. A very, very powerful unicorn. One who can see all across Equestria.  The legend states that if he witnesses an unimaginable feat of magical prowess, he wil make himself known, and summon the unicorns involved to his presence.”

“We figure that if we do that, and if the legends are true, that he'd be able to help us take down Degnemico!” Flood said.  Magia listened happily, feeling more interested and determined than ever.

“The legend also tells of the mightiest dragon the world has ever known, in size, ability, and power.  He is supposedly a very close friend of the master unicorn.” Tera' said, his arms corssed.

“Does this legendary unicorn have a name?” Magia asked.

“He calls himself choS.” Duster spoke up, finally.