Violet Magica - The Arrow of Light

A short while later, Violet discovered Azure maundering through a dank alleyway in the twilight of dusk. Hearing steps behind her, Azure slowly turned around, her face—much to Violet's dismay—was already empty, her usual grin missing and with it every sense of happiness.

“Violet... what do you want here? I had enough of your horse apples, let me be for now...”

“What happened to your energetic and animated behavior? Aren't you gonna tell me how you are never going to be defeated and never have any regrets about your crusade?”

“I don't need you taunting me right now, Violet...”

“Listen, Marina, even if you don't agree with the way I act, you need to listen to me for once.” Violet took out a Grief Seed and tossed it right in front of Azure. “Your Soul Gem is almost completely corrupted. You can save yourself from your curse, but you have to be willing to do it.”

Azure looked down at the Grief Seed and tried to grab it but toppled over instead. Lying on the ground, she scrambled for the Grief Seed and when she finally laid hooves on it, she tossed it aside.

“What do you think you're doing? You want to give me another speech now on how you are better than other Sorceresses and how you are going to continue Spirit's legacy? You will meet with an even worse fate than hers if you continue like this. Swallow your pride for once and take it, I am only trying to help you.”

Slowly raising her head, Azure locked eyes with Violet. “Are you? I disagree with you, I dislike you, I don't trust you at all. You have the eyes of somepony who has already given up on everything. No. You seek something different... you want to help me for a different reason... But I will have none of that! I will not be some pawn in whatever the hay sort of game you are playing!”

For a moment, silence filled the alley, the two of them looking at each other in an unstable silence.

Violet finally broke the tension and walked towards the still collapsed Azure. “You are right. I don't care about you at all, or about your personal troubles with Slate and Leafy.” A smug smirk made it's way onto Violet's lips. “I only care about Rose. All I have done, all I will ever do, is only to make sure that Rose will survive all of this; and yet, I watch you dump all your sorrows and self-pity, all of your stupid problems onto her. You call yourself her friend, yet despite her worrying about you all the time and even coming to me, begging me to help you, you just motionlessly fall deeper into the pit you threw yourself into.” Violet transformed in an instant. “If you don't let me settle this the way I wanted to, then I will have to stop you from making Rose sad... by force.”

Violet went for her invisible bag and produced her gun. Azure's blank stare did not change as she slowly pointed it at Azure's Soul Gem. “Last chance.”

Before Azure had the opportunity to spit in Violet's face, Violet's body was suddenly jerked backwards.

“Quick, Azure! I got her! Run away!” Crimson had locked Violet down by putting her in a hold, using the chains of her spear to wrap around her.

Azure gathered her strength and slowly got up while trying to fight her pain. Finally in a standing position, she stumbled onwards into the distance, almost toppling over again after every few steps.

“What has gotten into you? I thought she was a friend of yours?”

Violet gritted her teeth. “You should know well enough that she is not fit for a Sorceress, and you have seen how much it has cost her! She is going to take herself and everyone around her down with her! Why are you still protecting her?”

“That's–! I just feel like–! Well I don't have to explain myself to you!” Violet didn't have to turn around to guess Crimson's expression.

“Fair enough, now let go.”

“What? Oh I see, you are having trouble using that freaky magic of yours when I got you on a lock-down?”

“It's for own safety, I have somewhere to be.”

“Wha–”

Before Crimson could figure out what was going on, a small peculiar-looking grenade dropped out from behind Violet's TCD, which immediately began to beep loudly, causing Crimson to release Violet for a split-second. Time Lock! Time Release!

The grenade exploded right in front of Crimson, but the oddly tiny explosion caused no damage to her. However, as she tried looking around, Violet was already nowhere to be found.

***

“Is there anything else I can do to help her?” Rose sat on a park bench, next to Kiubee. The sun had already gone down and the calming light of the lamps danced around the waterstreams of the fountain.

“I'm afraid not, Rose. Becoming a Sorceress was her own decision. Once you go down that road there is no turning back.”

Rose's head sunk down as she let out a disappointed sigh.

“However... there might be a way for you to change that.”

Instantly jumping up, Rose exposed a wide open smile. “What? Really?”

Kiubee nodded. “There is something that only you can do, you alone of all ponies. If you were to become a Sorceress, your powers would be enormous. Listen to me, Rose: of all the ponies I have encountered your latent potential outclasses every other one by cosmic proportions! I have no idea or theory as to why you possess such enormous ability, but if you would engage in a contract with me, you could do absolutely anything... You could even become a god.”

Her eyes became enormous. “Anything...? I could even transform Azure back into a regular pony?”

“I have to be honest: I have never before heard of such a thing succeeding, however in your case, it might be easily within your powers. Is that something you want to give your soul for?”

“Really... Well...” Rose looked up into the stars for a moment before facing Kiubee again. “If it's for Azure, then I will have to do it! She's my best friend and I need to do everything I can to help her, and Crimson too! Kiubee, I wish to–”

Time Lock! Silence. Every single particle in the air stood still. Until... Time Release! Kiubee's face got instantaneously torn apart, his body splattering all over the bench. Rose let out a sharp shriek and flinched backwards from the bench. Behind her, a black gun was dropped and hit the ground, the barrel still smoking. The pony who had held the gun, Violet, stepped towards Rose.

“Why... Why do you always have to sacrifice yourself!” Violet put her hooves on Rose's shoulders but avoided eye contact. “How can you be so naive? Always wanting to be the great hero?”

“Y- you didn't have to kill him...”

“I had to stop you... You have to stay with us! Don't you know that there will be ponies who will grief when you are gone?” Violet's voice quivered more with each word. “Don't you know that there are some ponies who would be devastated if you were gone? Some ponies who would never be able to handle the loss...”

For a moment, Rose's eyes blanked. Alien visions and impossible memories electrocuted her mind for only a split-second. “Violet... Have we... met before... that day?”

Without moving her head to face her, Violet tried to produce words. “We... we have...”

Rose moved further backwards until she responded. “I... we have to go... We have to find Azure...”

“I'm sorry, but... it's too late.” Time Lock! Time Release! Within the next moment, Violet disappeared in front of Rose.

***

Vaulting over fences, Violet rushed in a straight line as fast as she could without wasting magic to the train station. That is where Azure and Crimson would be in that fateful hour. Without the Grief Seed, Azure could once again not be saved from her demise.

From a distance, Violet watched Azure's Soul Gem explode in front of Crimson, and her witch—the mermare witch as Violet called it—already expanded her barrier around the station, catching Crimson and Violet within. In the fledgling barrier, ethereal instruments formed of wild magic, emitting a cacophony of discordant sounds. No floor or ceiling was discernible, as space was still warping around them.

Crimson, frozen in shock, was only able to utter a few gasps as she twitched, trying to find out where she landed, and what happened to Azure. For a quick moment, she caught a glimpse of what appeared to be Azure's body and rushed over in an instant. Crimson tried to shake her awake, searching for signs of life within her husk. Unable to locate her Soul Gem, it had to be truly gone. “Azure! Hey, say something will you, get angry at me or anything. I don't care, just answer me dammit!” A witch of mermare form, wielding a saber, appeared in front of her. Crimson quickly picked up Azure's body and put it on her back, getting ready to flee.

“That is the being formerly known as Azure Marina.” Violet approached Crimson as she was about to rush through the barrier. “You should drop that weight and put what's left of your friend over there to rest.”

“The hell I will! I'm going to get Azure here out of this!”

“That thing you are carrying is not Marina, you should know this already from what happened the other day. And with her Soul Gem breaking and giving birth to a witch, she is gone. You will feel better after defeating her witch.”

“The hell I will! As if I'd throw her away! I'm going to get her body out of here, and then I'll find a solution!” And don't you dare touch that witch! I will find a way to save her!

Letting out a sigh, Violet scratched her head, before extending a hoof to Crimson. “Okay then, hold on.”

“Wha–”

“Do it.”

Crimson did as she was told and grabbed Violet's hoof, as Violet's TCD made sounds. Time Lock!

“You figured out part of it earlier. You see, most things I touch will become immune to my magic.”

Crimson only listened to half of what Violet said. Instead, she looked around herself as she noticed that the entire movement of the barrier's walls and the witch had ceased moving. “Is that it... is that your magic? You can freaking stop time?”

“We have already stood around for too long, follow me. And don't let go, or else I can't stop you from freezing as well.” Yanking Crimson away, Violet dragged her along as she rushed towards the edge of the barrier, Azure's body bouncing up and down on Crimson's back.

Crimson bit her lips as they finally reached the edge, breaking out of the barrier.

Outside, both of them laid eyes on a familiar pony.

“Rose...”

Rose's pain, her lamenting cries, her uncontrollable sobbing. Violet backed off from the scene, not looking back. Even having seen a scene like this once had already been too much in the past. She needed no reminder of what was at stake, not just for her and Rose, but for all the other Sorceresses as well.

***

As the next day had come, Rose and Crimson met atop a hill outside the school right as school ended. That Rose made it through a school day without breaking apart was both proof of her inner strength, and a result of Crimson's words the past day.

“I'm pretty bad at beating around the bush so let's get right to it,” Crimson said right after they both met, “from all we have learned we have found out that Sorceresses consist of a body and a soul, that has been trapped in their Soul Gem. Without her soul, Azure is without any life.”

Rose stared at the grass with a mostly empty face while only occasionally glimpsing at Crimson.

“However, what if we would be able to get Azure's soul back from within that barrier? I don't have any concrete plan, but I think if we go in there and call out to her, maybe she will hear us and come back? At least I'm not willing to give up yet. I know I have acted fairly hostile towards her in the past, but I'm actually really sorry for all the things I did and said, and this is the least I could do to make it up to her.”

“Thank you, Crimson.” A tiny bit of light came back into Rose's expression.

Slightly embarrassed, Crimson scratched her head. “Well, we haven't done anything yet, so don't thank me yet. Anyway, now would be the best part for our plan since I picked up the traces of another witch earlier, and Violet is probably heading to that one as we speak, meaning we can try to get Azure back without her interference.”

“But she–”

“Don't even try to defend her! She is not on Azure's side, and she would not agree with our plan anyway.” Crimson stomped the ground. “I say we go right now and get Azure back!”

Rose hesitated. After stroking her hoof through the grass a couple of times she finally nodded.

***

After only a few minutes, the two ponies found themselves deep within the witch's barrier, facing their usual enemy—a witch. Only this time, that witch was their best friend.

“Okay Rose, it's time!” While Crimson drew her weapon an ethereal protection field of sanguine red magic woven into chains materialized itself around Rose, locking the defenseless pony in a safe area away from the witch. “Call out to her, I will make sure to keep her at bay!”

With a giant leap, Crimson flew towards the witch, her spear floating perpendicular to her body in a protective stance.

“Azure it's me, Rose! Please listen to me!”

Ignoring Rose, the witch pointed its saber forward with a spastic movement, summoning an army of giant wheels the size of at least three ponies to hail down upon Crimson.

“Azure please, you have to stop this... This isn't who you are!”

No reaction. Crimson dodged some of the wheels while swatting away others in between, yet some managed to hit Crimson and slightly knock her back. In every free second, her cries chimed in to disrupt the nightmarish song that the barrier had brought forth. “Azure! You always wanted to protect those around you! That was the reason you kept on fighting! Don't throw this all away now!”

“Please... come to your senses, Azure... you need to remember...” Rose slowly sank down.

With a loud bump a wheel hit Crimson directly from the front, sending her tumbling backwards, crashing into the barrier wall, damaging parts of it as a loud cackle was emitted.

“Crimson! Are you okay?”

Crimson slowly got back on her hooves. “Don't worry about me, keep calling out to her...” Another wave of wheels was sent forth to barrage the pony.

“Please come back to us, Azure... we miss you...”

Crimson's dance around the wheels continued, more and more of them smashing into her. “Azure, is this payback for when we first met? Are you trying to get back at me for me trying to harm you? So be it then... But promise me one thing: once you had enough... please come back to us!”

Almost tripping, Crimson stumbled forwards as two wheels from both sides squashed her between them. Her heavily bruised body toppled over, blood being pressed out of her before the wheels vanished again. As her magic wavered, the protective field around Rose disappeared.

“Crimson!” Rose tried to rush over to her friend. With an erratic movement, the witch leaned forwards across the entire room and picked up Rose between its hooves in a press, slowly increasing the pressure. “Azure... no...” Rose was slowly fading.

With a loud scream, Crimson gathered her strength, leaped upwards, and swung her spear to cut through one of the witch's hooves, creating an enormous fountain of spectral liquid to rush out of the wound. “Azure! You always told me you believed! Don't give up yet!” Rose hit the ground unconscious, yet mostly unscathed.

Materializing its saber again, the witch struck out towards the injured pony. Crimson's movements were slowed down to crawl, her reaction time greatly reduced. And so the blade directly struck her, its tip impaling her body on the blade. In a follow-up the witch smashed the blade into the ground, catapulting Crimson's body off the blade and causing the ground to crumble beneath them. The entire floor collapsed and the unconscious body of Rose, as well as the still breathing and conscious Crimson, who by now lost the majority of her blood, were sent tumbling downwards.

In a surreal swirl Crimson dropped into the depths as the room rotated and swirled around itself to create a new floor the ponies were now hurdling towards. “God... look at the life I have lived... after all this... please... let me have a happy dream for once...”

Before Rose's body hit the ground, her fall was dampened by the magic of a purple pony. Crimson however crashed straight into the ground, her spear following her with a sharp clonk. Violet looked over at the pony who somehow still refused to faint or give up. “Phantasma...” A feint shimmer of empathy made its way into Violet's voice.

Crimson slowly erected her body into an unsteady standing position. Before Violet could rush over to her, a sanguine magical barrier materialized itself between them. “Violet... get Rose out of here... I shouldn't have dragged her in here to come along with my idiocy...” Violet couldn't find the right words to answer. “Oh I know what you think... But after all, I shouldn't fight without a burden anyway... You should go and protect what is important to you...” Her eyes wandered over towards Rose. “Huh, funny... I thought that's what I was doing the entire time... Now go... I will take care of her...” Violet followed her advice.

As Violet rushed away with Rose on her back, the ground violently shook. “My wish wasn't just to aid my father... my wish was to make ponies realize what is right and create a better world for every pony. And to this end... I know what I must do.” She took a small brooch with the emblem of her father's church out from her mane and held it close to her as she closed her eyes. An inner flame lit up inside Crimson and sparked into a fiery storm.

From the shaking ground a ginormous army shot forth. An army of mirror-images of her spear, each one easily the size of the witch. One of these erupted from below Crimson, picking her up on the handle and transporting her high up, closer towards the witch.

“Azure... I know you don't want to be alone... Don't worry... I'll be there...” Taking a final glance at the brooch, she took out her now vibrating Soul Gem from her horn and tossed it high up into the air. From the position she was now on, riding on the back of a giant serpentine spear, she was right in front of the face of her former friend. Swinging her spear around, she charged a final blast of all of her remaining magical energy onto the tip of her weapon. Her Soul Gem reached the apex of it's trail and began falling down towards the ground again. As it passed in between Crimson and the witch, she released her shot.

Tearing through her Soul Gem and the witch behind it, her final act ended the stories of both.

On the other side of the crumbling barrier, Violet reached the exit. Outside, she took a glance at the twilight sky. “I understand.”