Pawns: A Plan Across Ages (V1.0)
Starswirl the Bearded sat alone in his tower, a quill levitating in his magic. He knew that the spell he was composing would kill him. Ouroboros, The World Snake, God of Time, had informed him that he would die after creating his masterpiece.
He was content with that. As a unicorn with a special talent for Magic itself, he knew that his soul would pass on into the Void of the Dead Goddess. The Sundered Goddess’s realm of the afterlife would remain silent and unchanging until Her Heir emerged.
And Harmony had selected him to craft the first part of the spell that would resurrect Her. There could be no greater destiny for the likes of him.
His affairs were in order, his last meal consumed. The letter to Platinum and Clover was already written.
He contemplated the many worlds he had visited over his life. Wonders flitted through his memory, mountains floating in the sky, oceans of immeasurable beauty, cities built of smoke. And the machines! Machines that could compete with magic!
From one to another…
The machines. Machines for travel, machines for construction, machines for war. The old unicorn had seen so many. They were similar to Magic in some ways. An almost perfect metaphor. They had limits built into their very construction, just as Magic has its Laws. A crafty or skilled user could get the machine or the Laws to behave in unusual ways.
Truly, the mechanisms of Magic were like a vast machine, capable of incredible varieties of functions, but only if the user can understand how to work the numerous controls. Controls that were, unfortunately, lacking labels describing their functions.
Some creatures cannot even access the controls, while others had limited access to some controls, and a few like him had unlimited access to all the controls.
…Another to one…
And like a machine, the Laws required fuel to run. Mana, the last breath of the Sundered Goddess as she died, was that fuel. It waited in the Ethereal Plane, the realm of all the gods. It filtered down into the lower worlds through the Greater Ley Lines. The Lesser Ley Lines spread the mana throughout each world. The minor ley lines in each living thing, called chakra points by the uneducated, filled mortals with Her last gift. All mana used returned to the Ethereal Plane and went back through the cycle.
Resting allowed mortals to recover their mana.
Mana could limit magical endurance, but not ability. A cleaver caster could utilize limited mana to make the Laws warp the very fabric of reality if the caster could manipulate the controls properly. Essence was the true limiting factor.
Clover, dear Clover, had never had high reserves of mana. Truly insignificant next to his own reserves of mana, like comparing a puddle to an ocean. None the less, he cherished the time he had spent with his student, for her sharp wit and brilliant mind rivaled his, while she surpassed him in compassion several times over.
Thinking back to the questions he had asked her when he was seeking a student, he had a moment of joy. Her response, saying that Apathy opposes Love was brilliant. Though technically, she answered wrong on that question. Hatred is the opposite of Love, and both are opposed by Apathy.
…The Mark of one’s destiny…
Magic, the very power of the Sundered Goddess, a divine power, could not be used without demonic influence. He quietly chuckled at the irony.
The Sundered Goddess did not want the other gods, those traitorous murderers, to gain access to her Laws. And so she instilled a limit: even if a creature possesses all the mana in existence, the Laws will not function without Essence, similar to how a machine will not function without lubricant.
Demons, born from Her blood, are born with a supply of Essence. The demons touched all mortal life, giving mortals the power to generate Essence. Mortal life forms with little Essence can barely get Magic to work, while mortals with considerable reserves of Essence are substantially more powerful, at the cost of being more vulnerable to demonic influence and possession.
Many simple acts of living generated Essence in mortals. Marriage, sex, raising offspring, fighting for survival, and many more. When magic is used, some of that Essence is released into the world. When the magic is done influencing the world, the Essence returns to the mortal. Permanently binding an artifact with Essence makes perpetual magical artifacts. Essence increases, or decreases with health. The most powerful spells convert life force into Essence to unleash vastly more potent magics.
Gods cannot generate Essence. Their Avatars have no Essence. They can warp reality, but doing so calls down the wrath of the other gods and results in arguments. To gain access to Magic outside of their domains they must harvest Essence from the souls of mortals that worshiped them in life. Their Avatars operate on that Essence.
Starswirl smirked. None of those traitor gods that had murdered his Goddess would get his Essence. His Essence would go to Harmony, who had promised to keep it ready for Her rebirth.
…Singled out alone, fulfilled.
Starswirl completed the spell.
Curious, he thought. My body feels… normal. I thought I was supposed to die here?
A light that was not a light gleamed behind him. He turned. Two figures stood before him. One was a Tree, Harmony herself. The other was Death. He knew it was Death, even if he could not look straight at the figure. Death’s presence was as a warm blanket on a cold winter day.
Harmony spoke. ::Starswirl, for serving my plans, willingly and knowingly, I grant you a gift. Assumption. Death will bring you, body and soul, into the afterlife.::
Starswirl smirked, his eyes sparkling with the same energy as drove him throughout all his adventures. “Death will be another great adventure. Lead the way.”
~/~<\/\/>~/~
Twilight knew why Starswirl’s final spell had activated without her casting. She had finally, inevitably, become so powerful that her magic was warping reality from her very existence, rather than her conscious decisions.
How did it come to this point? She laughed at herself. Twilight knew how she had gotten the power. From her enemies.
Essence in the body of a living thing picks up on the emotional state of the host. Outside of a living body or enchanted artifact, Essence begins to fade out of existence. But as long as it exists, its emotional and elemental resonance influences the world around it. To use magic is to release Essence, tainted with emotion, intent, and personality into the world. And Twilight’s enemies had left a lot of Essence lying around.
Nightmare’s Essence, so tainted with rage and jealousy, needed to be removed from the moon. Consuming her Essence made life difficult and pushed me back to the most basic magics. I had to learn everything all over again.
Discord’s Essence, filled with chaotic intent and distributed across the land, would have wrecked any environment it was left in. I had no choice but to consume it so it would not cause further harm. I just wish it would not have twisted my own mind to the brink of insanity.
Sombra… Sombra’s castle was filled with all sorts of enchantments and lingering Demon Magic. All of that had to go away, otherwise the castle would be filled with demons before too long. I absorbed it all, though it made the Crystal Heart’s magic hurt like a buck from Big McIntosh. Though absorbing the Essence from Sombra’s soul as he died was entirely unexpected.
As Twilight held her friends, restored from the effects of Starswirl’s spell, she cast her mind forward to her own doom. The fate of all magic users that delve too deep into the nature of magic is to be absorbed into the dead Goddess or reject their magic forever. With this much power, I have crossed the line. I want to keep my magic, but I don’t want to lose my friends.
~/~<\/\/>~/~
Miles away, in a cavernous grotto, the Tree of Harmony’s attention stirred.
::It is time. Daughters, prepare for the fulfillment of my plan. Now, all I need is to give her a little nudge. Try utilizing my power in Starswirl’s spell.::
~/~<\/\/>~/~
Twilight’s eyes gleamed with inspiration. The Elements! They can turn Discord to stone. Surely they could find a way to keep me and my friends together without destroying me. Racing to the library with her friends following behind, she started formulating the solution to the test before her.
From all of us together,
Together we’re friends.
With the marks of our destinies made one
There is magic without end!
The Elements of Harmony started lighting up. Twilight could sense an annihilator spell building between them. The Element of Magic is not responding to me! What’s going on? Harmony help me!
A stern voice spoke in Twilight’s head. ::Well, your devotion to your friends is about to be rewarded.:: Loyalty
Barely constrained mirth filled the second voice. ::This is a hoot! She is praying to us? She really is clueless about her fate, isn’t she?:: Laughter
::Be not afraid little one. We will not hurt you. You are about to receive the gift we have been holding onto for far too long.:: Generosity
::Except for the part where we are about to vaporize your current body. That qualifies as a form of harm. Though I promise that it will not cause any pain.:: Honesty
The fifth voice was directed at the fourth voice. ::Sister, please. You may be able to see the bigger picture and speak nothing but the truth, but you forget the little things like fear.:: The gentle awareness turned its attention to Twilight. ::Your fate is far greater than you can comprehend at this time. For now, rest assured that Harmony fully intends to keep you and your friends together. And what good would it do for you to lose your magic? None.::
Twilight gave herself over to the will of Harmony and her Daughters.
~/~<\/\/>~/~
Twilight. Sheha. Götterdämmerung. The restored goddess went by many names.
Looking at an old photograph, she smiled as she remembered her naiveté from her youth.
::To think, I used to fear being in authority.::
She gazed out across the world. Harmony had mastered plotting. The demon war was nearly over.
::Soon. My Heart will be mine once more. Daughter, you make your old mare proud.::
