Violet Magica - The Arrow of Light

Violet understood. She understood how her magic worked, what had happened to her, what newfound powers she now held. With her advent into the world of magic and the creation of her Soul Gem foreign knowledge poured into her. Amber and Rose were right: similar to how one would move muscles she had a subconscious feeling about everything she was now capable of.

When Violet awoke in her hospital bed once more, she did not have to check the calendar to confirm that she had traveled exactly one month backwards in time. She could also feel how her body had subtly changed when she became a wielder of magic: the healing magic that the other two had spoken off worked almost automatically and cleansed her body of any harm and she even noticed her heart now being free of any pain.

Since all of this was now a subconscious truth to Violet, she did not have to think about it. Instead, her mind was still in those ruins, still leaning over Rose's corpse. She went over those images over and over again, tensing her body up and causing her to buckle over. Eventually, she made her way back to her current location. Her body slumped and sank into the sheets, her breath suddenly catching. It had finally dawned on her that her wish came true.

Many ponies—Violet one of them—had dreamed of being able to walk through time like an open path, but what would one actually do once they had the ability to do so? As Violet was released from hospital once more, her thoughts were already on her next steps.

Despite her trying to stay calm and plan her steps, when she walked into the classroom for the first time again, she failed to suppress a rushing wave of excitement as her gaze on to Rose. A few stuttered words under her breath later, Violet was already sitting on her spot again, smile still shining bright. She did not have to think about those dreaded images anymore. Rose was alive, and she was once again sitting right next to her.

After a private introduction to Rose as a fledgling Sorceress with no training, Violet quickly found herself in the woods with her and Amber for special training. After all, she made sure to stress her inexperience, while also making sure not to reveal her information. This was partially because Violet had this subtle feeling that nothing that had happened in the other time-line was of any consequence, now that she was here, and partially because revealing herself to be a time-traveler would only create unnecessary confusion and mistrust. The only thing that mattered to Violet was the now.

“Well, show us what you got then.” Violet felt at home hearing Amber's voice. She used to appear as an expert of a foreign field, sharing information to an outsider. But actually being a fully valid part of the team with her as the captain ignited a flame of passion within Violet.

“Okay, here we go!” As instructed, Violet readied herself and transformed. Atop her head now sat a horn, inset with her purple-shining Soul Gem. Additionally, however, something else appeared, attached to the back of her left forehoof: a peculiar circular device. This device of about twenty centimeters in diameter and about one centimeter thickness had a silver and purple case of metal. On the outer side, something that appeared like an hourglass with violet sand inside was worked into the case. A spot on the case was opened and various gears could be seen spinning slowly on the inside.

She could feel the magic around and inside her. It felt so natural and simple, yet she couldn't describe how she did it. Violet stared at the uprooted tree in front of her and concentrated on her magic. She didn't have to try out any special moves or ideas, she already knew what to do.

The device on Violet's hoof glowed in a purple hue. Then, the top of the disk-like device rotated ninety degrees with a few clicking sounds, causing the sand-flow from the hourglass to seize. As soon as the last drop of sand stopped moving, time itself seized movement.

This was now part of who she was.She took a quick glance around herself. Both Amber and Rose were completely frozen, the leaves on the trees stopped swaying in the wind and the random noises of the surrounding animals went silent. Only a subtle ticking of gears turning was heard.

Looking back at the uprooted tree, Violet found herself immediately stumped. She had no weapon. She tried to will something sharp or otherwise dangerous into being but felt it was futile before she even tried. These weren't part of who she was.Unable to find any quick solution, she simply grabbed a twig from the ground and started whacking the tree as hard as she could. She managed to cause some of the bark to splinter off, but before long she had to sit down on the floor again and take a breather. Right then, her device, which she had dubbed “Time Control Device”, or TCD for short, snapped back into its original position and her two friends started moving again.

Both of them immediately swung their heads to where Violet was now sitting, their jaws dropping.

“What did you just do? Did you teleport?” Rose raised her hoof and pointed at Violet while shouting in disbelief.

In the meantime, Amber moved over to the tree and inspected the damage Violet had done. “Whatever you just did, it did absolutely no serious damage. Are you planning on hunting defenseless squirrels with that? I can assure you the witches won't be impressed by this, they'll be laughing at you if they weren't already.”

In between her heavy breaths, Violet quickly uttered the words “time lock” causing an even more surprised face from the other two.

“Unbelievable...” Amber stared at Violet's TCD. “But without a weapon such a power cannot be used offensively.” She quickly rubbed her forehead before transforming and conjuring a few muskets to place in front of Violet. “Here, try these.”

Having finally caught her breath, Violet lifted herself up and magically grabbed her TCD again. Time Lock! With time stopped again, she grabbed the first musket via magic and aimed it at the tree. Since she didn't have to act quickly, she slowed down and made sure her aim was as true as she could make it before firing. Her first shot hit the center of the log in the upper area of the tree. This revealed another quirk of her magic: when she grasped the musket with her magic it seemed to change, time seemed to move again for this object alone. She was also able to fire a shot and have it reach her target, about two meters in front of her. The shot pierced through the wood and peculiarly stopped moving in mid-air behind the tree. The splinters and bits of wood that were blasted off also stopped moving almost immediately.

After having used all three muskets, the TCD snapped back again. Time Release! In that very split-second that her lock was released, the tree was torn apart with violent forces from three different spots, completely obliterating it in the process.

“Amazing!” Rose jumped up into the air.

“Now that is something we can work with.” Amber moved towards Violet and patted her on the shoulder. Her hoof suddenly stopped as she put on a concerned face. “There is only one problem. I can't give you these all the time. If we are fighting together I can lend you some, but there is little use to conjuring them, and passing them over to you to fire them, instead of immediately firing myself. Also, what do you do if you have to fight alone one day? What you need is some firepower of your own. And I think I already have an idea. I can teach you how to transport multiple small objects as if they were air, and about the weapons... Say, what is your alignment to stealing? Actually, it doesn't matter, I don't think you will have another choice.”

***

A battlefield in the sky was the stage for Violet's first hunt. The barrier of this witch seemed odd even compared to the ones she had seen so far: instead of being trapped in worlds of impossible geometry and unreal objects in a variety of hues plastering ethereal walls, this barrier consisted of a multitude of wash-lines, hanging over an endless abyss. Around them: the blue of the sky. Without any safe ground or any platform to stand on, Violet clung as hard as she could to the first line after entering the barrier, while Rose and Amber tried to balance on top of them.

At least the witch showed itself immediately: a sort of octopus of a being hung between multiple wash-lines in front of them. Its giant body consisted of an assortment of massive hooves fanning out between the lines, connected in the middle to a single blob of bubbling tissue.

The octopus witch: frankly, a witch that wasn't worth gathering information on. A reminder to the Sorceresses that not every witch was a cunning and mischievous monster with dark powers. It spent its time residing over its own world as its only goal left. Beyond that, there was nothing needed to satisfy this witch.

“Hang on for a second Violet, we're gonna end this quickly!” Rose shouted over to Violet, who was hanging on for dear life with all her strength and shaking violently.

“Rose, get that thing distracted, I'll prepare something!” With this, Amber summoned numerous ribbons around her, which tied themselves to the lines.

As told, Rose jumped right up to the witch and tickled its hooves with some quick shots, causing the witch to flail its hooves around wildly. “I'm sorry miss witch, but you won't like what comes next.”

“Violet, I'm done, this one is yours! It's safe to let go now!” Trusting in her allies, Violet let go of her line and landed safely on some of Amber's ribbons which had formed an elongated platform. Looking ahead, her view raced along the path Amber had built. With this ode to the bridge-builder Violet was finally ready to attempt her first kill.

Time Lock! With the witch frozen in time and the slowly swinging bridge now completely still, Violet rose up to her hooves and stumbled her way towards her target, one hoof after another, getting faster with every step.

Finally, in the proximity of the witch, her right hoof moved behind the TCD on her left hoof and with an almost inaudible swirling sound, she pulled a short pipe-like object out of thin air. After she pressed a button at the top of the object, it beeped and an assortment of lights blinked in red. A rush of adrenaline overcame Violet, she could feel her body overcoming her past limitations, guided by magic. Almost moving on her own—her subconscious was taking over—she pulled her hoof back and tossed the object towards the witch, using a small amount of magic to stabilize its trajectory and making sure it wouldn't get caught in the time lock before it reached its destination, the central flank of the witch.

Time Release! The next thing Violet remembered was a bright flash and an enormous bang, followed by an ocean of flames gobbling up the witch. Her next clear memory was Rose dancing around her—back on solid ground.

“That was the most amazing thing I have ever seen! One second you were back there clinging on like a monkey—no offense—and next second the witch just exploded! You were incredible!” Rose gave Violet a quick embrace. This little gesture was enough to remind Violet—if just for a split-second—what terrors she had locked in her memory.

She hadn't put any deeper thought into becoming a Sorceress back then. But for that moment, for that right there, it had already been worth it and she would never regret that choice. “Just hold out Rose, I'll protect you this time.”

***

Winding down from the witch-hunt, the trio met at Amber's house as they had so often in Violet's memories. As they walked in, Amber apologized for her room not being cleaned up and proceeded to show her around—but Violet already knew where everything was.

When Amber approached the central table with some tea by her side, Rose took the initiative. “There was something I wanted to ask you, Violet.” Violet sat next to her, both on the opposite side of Amber. “When you approached me on that day, how did you know I was a Sorceress?”

Horsefeathers. “Well I um...” She proceeded to scratch the back of her head while her eyes curled towards the top right corners of her eye. “I noticed your earrings. When I looked closer at them I realized only one of them had a sort of gem inside it. I figured that must have been your Soul Gem.”

Even while Violet was still explaining herself, Amber glared at her while she poured her tea. Even without paying attention to it, she poured exactly as much as she always did. “And what if that had just been a coincidence? You can't go around telling random ponies that you are a Sorceress. Ours is a burden we cannot share with regular ponies, it unnecessarily complicates our existence.”

“It was worth taking the risk. If anything I would have just told her it was a reference to some comic I hoped she had read.” Violet crossed her hooves. Amber's professionalism was handy in times of danger, yet Violet was starting to become unnerved at how Amber's observant eye might pave the way for unnecessary quarrels. “I needed the help of another Sorceress, you saw how my first attempts at fighting were like and I couldn't sit there and hope that talent and the right ideas just found their way into my hooves.”

“It's okay, Violet. I'm really grateful that you went and approached me, but I'm not that experienced myself yet. I'm pretty much still learning from Amber here, she's the veteran.”

Violet casually glanced around the room once more and spotted Kiubee sitting in his usual corner, probably pretending to be asleep. “Say Spirit, how strong can witches get?”

“Hm? Well, from what I have seen there are quite some variations between how powerful witches are. Some are sitting ducks, barely even noticing our presence or reacting to it, while others react violently to us and assault us with everything they have. Most of them aren't a problem though, even the fiercest witches are nothing to a Sorceress using their full power.” She took a quick sip of tea and let her eyes wander the room before she continued. “What you really need to watch out for are tricksters. There are some witches who will try to deceive you and strike you when you are most vulnerable. When I was still fighting with a former partner of mine we encountered a sort of Minotaur-like witch wielding a giant ax. After we defeated the Minotaur we were certain we had won, but it turned out the real witch had bound itself to the ax and attacked us when our guard was down. We were lucky we both survived.”

“And that was the toughest witch you know of?”

“The toughest witch I haven't seen with my own eyes but...” Amber scratched her chin. “I once heard some other Sorceresses talk about a sort of gargantuan mega-witch that terrorizes entire cities. I heard multiple ponies talk about that one so maybe those aren't just rumor, however nopony can say when or where they appear.” She smirked. “I'm sure me and my former partner could have taken it out together. The combined efforts of her illusions and my Tiro Finale could defeat anything.”

Rose clapped her hooves. “That sounds so awesome! That's exactly the kind of stuff I wanted to be a part of when I became a Sorceress. Say, what was it like meeting all these Sorceresses?”

Amber sank into her seat. That was probably the most relaxed Violet had ever seen Amber. “Well, when I was in Bluegrass I met a bunch of different Sorceresses, that city was swarming with them at some point, which was one of the reasons I came to Kamino. Most of the time though I just happened to find a witch along with another Sorceress by chance so we defeated it together and then parted ways again afterwards. You see, lasting partnerships are rare in our business. Most Sorceresses just think about themselves.”

Rose raised her hoof. “Well it's settled then. We are gonna form our own team then! You don't have to worry about wandering around and fighting alone anymore, we are gonna stay and fight with you forever. And then one day, we will be Magical Grannies!” The three of them broke into a hearty laughter.

“Thank you, Rose, I'm glad to have you two around.”

Rose took a glance at Violet. “Oh by the way Violet, what was your wish when you became a Sorceress?”

Horsefeathers. Violet's reaction was more extreme than she hoped as she struggled for words.

“If you don't want to, I can tell you mine first: I wished to be able to help ponies all over Komaria. I always wanted to be useful and make ponies happy so if I can continue my work as a Sorceress then I am happy as well.”

Finally, Violet managed to create a coherent sentence. “You see... I didn't really know what to pick for my wish but I always wanted to wish for something that made me happy. But then I realized that whenever I experienced a happy moment, that moment was sure to fade and turn into sadness again sooner or later. So my wish was to be able to stop time so that, once I finally experienced true happiness, I could stop time forever and that moment would never have to end.”

Rose patted Violet on her shoulder. “Don't actually stop time forever though, I'd love to be able to move again at some point.”

Since Violet had intimate knowledge of her own capabilities, she knew that she could not stop time forever. She could only stop it for up to a minute at a time, with extended use bringing with it a rapid decline in magical power. Additionally, she could travel back to the moment of her waking up in the hospital again at anytime, but not to any different moment. That was the full extent of her time-manipulation.

Rose's eyes moved back to Amber. “I never asked, but what was your wish Amber?”

A sudden flash of unease struck Amber's eyes before they reverted back to normal and then turned sullen as her face slightly dropped. The atmosphere in the room changed in an instant. “About two years ago I was on a train ride with my parents...”

Violet immediately felt like she wanted to either leave the room in that moment or turn back time and make Rose's question undone. She had never before seen Amber—or any pony for that matter—suddenly shift in mood so quickly. Knowing Amber, if something terrible awaits behind that question, she would not hold anything back.

“At some point the train derailed—I don't know why—and my parents were crushed under the wreckage, along with me. I remember the life being squeezed out of my body and the ground beneath me laughing back at me with a deep red smile. It was then a blurry silhouette appeared in the corner of my eye. 'If you wish to live, then I can make it so.' With the breath that should have been my last I begged what I thought was a messenger of god to save my life.”

Both Rose and Violet covered their gaping mouths in shock. With their bodies shivering they fought to hold back their tears. Violet forced herself to calm down by taking a sip of tea, almost spilling it due to her heavy shaking. After an uneasy silence that went on for what felt like a minute, Rose finally opened her mouth. “I didn't know, I'm so sorry.”

Within the instant of a second Amber returned to a happy smile as she took the empty teapot and made for the kitchen. “Don't worry. I'm happy to still be here after all and I should be grateful to Kiubee for saving me that day.”

Violet couldn't help but notice a bitter tear rolling down Amber's cheek.

***

Most of her past experiences with Rose and Amber seemed to repeat to a certain degree. While some of the witches they encountered mirrored the ones she had seen before, some of them were entirely new to her, the locations the witches attacked seemed to differ, as well as the order some events happened, yet the grand picture was the same.

Along her way, Violet pondered multiple theories regarding her time travel, but it seemed like the idea that this was an entirely new reality for her to shape, where nothing was yet set in stone, seemed to fit the best.

After about two more weeks of witch-hunting and hanging out as a trio, a day came where Violet and Amber met up at Amber's house again, yet Rose was untypically late.

“Did Daybreak say anything why she wouldn't meet us at the usual time today?” Violet traced the top of her empty cup of tea with her hoof, trying to produce a sound. Getting slightly frustrated due to her inability to do so, she almost considered using a little magic to help her. She should have really tried it with a glass instead.

“Not that I know of.” Amber sat in her usual slightly tensed up position across from Violet, her fore-hooves touching each other just above the ground, between her hind-hooves which both were tucked under the table.

Violet wondered for a moment if Amber bought a short table like this on purpose or if it just happened to be around when she got the house. She then proceeded to lie herself on the floor with an exaggerated yawn, while stretching her body to about the length of the table.

“I'm sure she will arrive soon, I don't think she would leave us hanging.”

Looking around the room, Violet tried to find subjects to talk about. Amber on her own would probably remain in her meditative state until spoken to. Not able to find anything noteworthy, she instead used memories of the past day as a source of conversation. “You know that witch from yesterday, Spirit? I guess you weren't kidding when you said the witches could do whatever they want with their barrier, even bending laws of physics to a certain degree or throwing unexpected stuff at us.”

“We can't quite say what will await us inside a barrier once we are in. Most of the times they are rather similar though.” Amber took another sip of tea.

“But something like playing music at us?” Violet waited for a reaction that didn't come. “I can't even say if that sound was coming from the walls or if there were actual minions playing instruments. But what got me thinking was what it sounded like: it sounded like the witch was expressing its feelings, like it was somewhere between angry and sad, unsure how to feel and wanted to vent by playing music.”

“If that's what the witches really feel, then that just makes it more evident that we absolutely need to release them from their suffering.”

“I guess so.”

Just as Violet finished her sentence, a visibly shaken Rose with disheveled mane stormed into the room. “Everyone listen, it's Azure, she went missing last night! We need to get out there and look for her right now!”

“What? We'll be going right away, but first I want you to tell me everything you know about her disappearance.” Amber stood up and moved towards Rose. A shiver went down Violet's spine as she put together the information she had and feared what would happen next. However, another odd thought crept up in her mind: Amber did not seem fazed by what she had just heard. Violet figured that Amber would, with a high degree of certainty, not have anything to do with Azure's disappearance directly, as nothing in this or the past time-line would point towards this, but instead Violet figured that Amber might be even more emotionally cold than she wanted to let on.

“She got into an argument with Leafy yesterday over Slate and stormed off towards the park in the evening, and that was the last time any pony saw her.”

Amber glanced over at Violet. Violet was still shaking. “You aren't the only one who noticed, Violet.”

Rose interjected. “She was not eaten by that witch from yesterday! I refuse to believe that!”

Amber grabbed both of Rose's shoulders and locked eyes. “Listen, we aren't saying that witch got her, none of us would ever want to admit something like that this early. But you need to keep one thing in mind: if such a dreadful thing really happened, we might not be able to find her. Her body might be gone.”

Rose began to stutter uncontrollably, her hooves flailing around. Eventually she stopped trying and blurted out “Let's go and find her so we don't have to think about that,” and neither Amber nor Violet declined.

***

It was around the time they came upon the hospital that their Soul Gems picked up a witch. It pointed to an area right next to one of the outside walls of the building.

They absolutely had to stop a witch in the vicinity of the hospital, but no one wanted to be the one to break the obvious news: their search for Azure had to wait. Destroying the witch was of utmost importance. It was also not necessary to directly break the news, since all three understood the situation they were in and what would happen next, so describing their predicament with words would only unnecessarily salt the bitter wound.

The only words uttered were spoken by Amber to Rose as they entered the barrier. “In here, only the witch counts. Stay focused.”

Rose quickly wiped her eyes clean and took a deep breath.

Their steps, heavy at first, grew quicker and lighter by the minute. Oddly enough, no minions or any other obstacles hindered them in their path to the core, which seemed rather long instead.

The more they walked the more they managed to loosen up their mind and relax their bodies. Finally, Violet turned towards Rose and began to speak. “Say Daybreak, are you alright? You seem scared.”

Rose's face almost immediately lightened up. “It's nothing big really. I guess I'm just a bit taken by how everything looks around here.”

Violet took some time to look at her surroundings more closely. A bright and colorful pallet of plaids spun themselves around the path they walked, with pieces of cheese scattered everywhere. In some places bubbles broke out of the floor and floated towards the ceiling, before disappearing into nothingness again. As expected, this barrier looked different from other barriers, yet it didn't feel as threatening as the others.

Glancing at Amber, Violet noticed her steps seemed a bit off-rhythm from how she usually walked, yet she looked as serious as ever. Violet was looking to bridge the time until they found the witch. Words always got ponies more relaxed. “Spirit, how do you always manage to stay so serious and concentrated?”

Amber smiled back at her. “It's not a big trick really, I just try to think about defeating the witch and stopping her from preying on innocent ponies. Delivering justice is what keeps me going and makes me what I am.”

Rose jumped in. “I could never be that focused, even if I tried really hard I can't forget how everypony is worrying about me and I start to hesitate.”

Violet continued for Rose. “It takes a certain mental strength to pull something like this off. Maybe if we train our mind a lot we might be able to enter a state of focus like Spirit.” In the corner of her eye, Violet noticed that Amber, who had been walking in front of the two, suddenly stopped walking and cramped up her body while muttering something which sounded like 'shut up' under breath.

Rose didn't seem to notice this as she continued on. “It would be great if at some point I could become as great a Sorceress as Amber!”

“Shut up!” This time even Rose heard Amber and promptly froze in her path, her body petrified. Amber was covering her face. “I'm not someone any pony should try to be like. I am raising you in hopes of not becoming anything like me.” Her tone lacked all of her usual authority or seriousness it used to have. Instead, it shook with every word. “I am an absolute failure of a pony.” She grabbed her head with her hooves and lowered it to the floor as her eyes vibrated beyond a layer of liquid. “When I was in that wreckage and Kiubee spoke to me, I only wanted to save myself. I could have saved them, I could have saved all of them, yet I wished for my life and my life alone.”

She removed her hooves from her head and lifted it towards the other two ponies. “And yet here I am, acting like the great ally of justice who saves the innocent by taking out the witches, while hiding my emotions. And in the process I have lost not only my parents but everyone I cared for. And now when I am alone I smother myself in my sorrow and cry like the biggest baby.” She let out a faint laughter. “Can you even believe that? I didn't want to be alone yet I have gotten so lonely.”

The sight of Amber crawling on the floor, swinging between sobbing and sorry attempts of hiding behind laughter, while laying her emotions bare, knocked Violet out of her skies. Even someone as supreme as Amber was sinking in a sea of regret, unable to find her personal light. What if the future did not hold anything good for Violet either? What if despite all her efforts she would ultimately lose her goal out of sight? What if–

As Violet looked at Amber once more, Rose was already embracing her and talking to her. “It's okay Amber. You've pushed yourself through so much and that is exactly why I won't take back what I said earlier: you are a wonderful Sorceress and I would be happy if I could become as great as you one day. Despite how you felt you managed to overcome everything that was thrown at you. And now that you have us you won't ever have to be lonely again. We will stay by your side and comfort you until all your tears have dried.”

Between sobs Amber managed to utter two simple words: “Thank you.”

Seconds passed and Amber slowly managed to calm down and relax until she moved away from Rose and turned around again. Trying to slip back into her usual seriousness, she moved onward. “We should get going. There's a witch waiting for us.”

Violet couldn't suppress a big smile hearing Amber talking with a more relaxed tone from her usual tensed one. Moreover, she was still in awe seeing how natural it seemed for Rose to comfort Amber. Violet herself had been taken in by Amber's sorrow, yet Rose did not even need to think about it for a second. The only thing she needed to worry about was Amber's well-being. Rose always being able to drag ponies up from the depths of despair and giving them hope, that might have been the greatest act of magic Violet ever witnessed, yet it was something so usual for Rose. Violet pondered that Rose's survival was not just for her own good, but for the good of all Sorceresses.

A handful of minutes later, the three of them finally managed to reach the core. Inside, multiple chairs and tables were scattered around the place, the walls lined with colorful plaid similar to what they saw before. Singular plates with pieces of cheese stood in the center of each table. All the chairs stood empty, except for one lonely chair, which supported a peculiar doll-looking being, looking like a young filly with a head shaped like an actual bonbon and sporting a subtle scarf.

The sweet-toothed witch: a cheerful and colorful exterior made to pacify onlookers, yet its own personal remains of self-worth hid a core of bitterness. A bitterness that caused the witch to eat itself inside-out in its dreams. Whatever it was that caused this witch to carry around its burden would surely be a tragedy too much to handle for regular ponies. Despite that, this was the only witch that, when looked at, radiated a calm and even apologetic aura.

Amber entered the core and turned towards the other two. “Stay here, I will finish this witch today as a sort of celebration of our friendship. Also, there's something you haven't seen yet.” They didn't mind.

Entering the arena, Amber quickly rushed to the doll and tested it by knocking it into the air with the butt of a musket. It certainly seemed to bounce like flesh would.

“All right, chew on this then!” Amber quickly readied a dozen muskets and fired a salve at her opponent. The shots pierced through it and tore off pieces of it, scattering it in the vicinity. Eventually, it fell back down onto the ground again, prompting Amber to give it a hefty buck into the wall.

To finish the witch off, Amber conjured an enormous gun, the barrel alone being big enough to house a pony. Violet tried to measure how many ponies it was long and settled at around five. Without trying to aim especially well, Amber grabbed the back of the gun and shouted “Tiro Finale!” before firing a blast wave of a shot directly at the witch. Only smoke and dust remained.

Turning around to face Rose and Violet again, Amber gave them a most unusual sight: the sight of Amber actually smiling at her victory.

It was in this moment an impossibly fast shadow swooped past Amber.

As if a switch had been flipped in her brain, Violet failed to produce any coherent thought after this as her mind blurred and the pictures her eyes saw were refused by her brain.

Her head... It was gone... The bleak screech of Rose as she dropped to the floor bore itself through Violet's ears, yet she couldn't erase the horror her eyes tried to repeatedly register as fact. Amber's lifeless husk dropped to the floor in a spout of blood. Where was her head...

With Rose's scream fading, the sound of something like glass breaking and being crunched reached Violet's ears.

From this point on, Violet couldn't recall what happened in which order and what only happened as a thought in her brain. Did the worm-like witch eat the rest of Amber's body after this or later? At some point her instincts must have kicked in and she must have stopped time and destroyed the witch. At least that's what Violet assumed as she was still alive, alongside Rose, now standing outside the hospital. Was there anything left of Amber after all?

Not one bit.

“Burn that sight into your mind. That is what it means to be a Sorceress.”