A Wizard's War

The dead creatures who were fighting for freedom littered the courtyard and the entrance to Canterlot Castle. Everywhere Luna went, there was someone dead already there. She had never seen anything like this in the entire thousand years of her life - merciless curses raining down upon the castle, tearing parts of it apart as well as sending it up in flames.

Far above the castle, tendrils of black smoke and light smoke pursued one another across the cloudy skies around the castle's many towers. Spells rocketed into the side of the north tower, which gave a mighty rumble as it collapsed in on itself. Shouts filled the night along with the sounds of crackling spells and crumbling structures.

A trio of guard pegasi flew by the west tower, each of them clutching several small glass orbs that pulsed with light. One of them shouted, "Come on!" The three of them dive-bombed the courtyard below and dropped their magic orbs towards their targets. The orbs exploded in a flash of light upon contact with anything.

Back in a central corridor, Joey let Naiose's head fall limply into his lap. Tears stung his eyes fiercely, and he gently laid Naiose back down on the floor. He then dragged him out from under a large chunk of ceiling and rested him down, not taking his eyes off of Naiose's tranquil, bloody face.

In an instant, pure hatred boiled through his veins as he looked around at the top of the massive pile of rubble.

"ROSERY!!!!" Joey bellowed, and began to scramble up the mound of rubble in a blind rage.

"Joey, come back!" Jo-Ann sobbed, and pursued her boyfriend up the pile with tears flooding her cheeks. Celestia, Twilight, and Shining all stared at Naiose numbly, feeling more hollow than they ever had in their lives - for Celestia, somehow, even more than when she banished Luna to the moon.

As Joey reached the top of the pile, a Mauler's head appeared over the top. "Excisis!!" Joey screamed, pointing his wand at the Mauler. Deep cuts appeared in the Mauler's face, sending droplets of blood down onto Joey, who wiped them off of his forehead with a sleeve as he continued to climb. The Mauler toppled out of sight, screaming painfully.

Once he had reached the top, he saw the Maulers and Minotaurs attempting to scale the rock, with Rosery supervising them. Joey jumped off from the top and landed on one of the Minotaurs, smashing its head into a broken column he had been scaling. He used the unconscious Minotaur's body as a cushion as he leapt off of it and plunged own again. He used a cushioning charm just before he hit the floor, and brought up his wand to deflect a curse that came from Rosery.

Joey roared as he got to his feet. Rosery raised his wand to cast another curse, but Joey blasted the wand out of the Mauler's hand. Now defenseless, Rosery pelted off down the corridor to the left, towards the entrance hall of the castle. Dodging several curses, Joey gave chase.

Jo-Ann followed him closely behind, desperately attempting to call Joey to his senses, but Joey couldn't hear her. Blood was roaring in his ears as he chased Rosery fiercely, his newfound hatred for the man stimulating him.

Rosery dodged a hippogriff and pelted past the front doors, one of which lay on the ground as it had been blasted off of its hinges.The Mauler flew down the front steps, with Joey following close behind. Rosery shot a curse back at Joey, who had to duck behind the door to avoid it. He pulled Jo-Ann to his side as the spell ricocheted off the door, narrowly missing her. Joey continued his chase, giving himself covering fire by firing spell after spell.

He was now right in front of Joey, giving him a perfect shot - if he could hit the man from here...

Rosery squawked as he found himself facing with a twenty-foot dragon. The dragon was clearly fighting for Lord Valkaris, but it was paying little attention to anything else but its victims. It wheeled around and saw Joey, and when it did, its eyes narrowed as a wicked smile formed on his lips. He raised his foot to take a step forward - right over Rosery, whom which the dragon was completely unaware of.

"No! Stop - I'm on your side! STOP!!" Rosery shrieked, but the dragons foot fell on him with a disgusting CRUNCH.

The dragon took a mighty swipe at Joey, giving the boy little time to process what just happened. He threw himself out of the way as the spiky tail missed his ear by mere inches. He scrambled to his feet again, but Jo-Ann tackled him, forcing him behind a large bell. The dragon's tail glanced off of the iron bell, breaking a spike. It gave an enraged roar of pain, and then focused its attention onto a small group of changelings.

Joey took Jo-Ann by the hand and led him to multiple piles of rubble, where they could take cover from the apocalypse happening around them. They had not even gone within ten feet of the closest pile when a large group of huge, pale, wrinkly spiders began to climb over them and give pursuit.

Srork'uzad spiders. Wonderful.

The two friends ran as fast as they could away from the horrible creatures - right into the thick of battle. Although as Joey looked closer, something was different. It appeared that some of the Maulers were dueling one another - which meant that they had rebelled to help his own cause!

Joey and his girlfriend ran right into the thick of it all, dodging, twisting, and ducking around many curses. They retaliated as much as they could, praying that they were hitting the right people. It was almost impossible to tell who was who in all of the chaos and noise.

"EXCRUCIATE!!"

"Mord - AUGH!!"

"STUPEFY!"

The two friends then found themselves leaving the crowd behind, running into a more isolated area. They turned a corner and pelted alongside a balcony that hung over a large cliff. Then Joey saw a horrible scene before him.

A Srork'uzad spider had its pincers deep into Gage's neck, injecting its horrible venom into his body.

"NO!!" Joey cried, and the spider released Gage and turned to face him. It did not have a chance to even lift a leg before Joey cursed it backward over the balcony, sending it screeching over the vast drop to the forests at the base of Canterlot Mountain.

Jo-Ann grabbed Joey's shoulders and spun him around to face her. She looked terrified, but Joey returned the action with a glare and shook her off. He ran to the side of the courtyard that was closest to the city and turned in the direction of the gates. Martin and Glynn were already there, felling Maulers and Minotaurs alike as a unit.

"Guys! Reapers!" Joey cried, pointing out at the skies over the Canterlot gate. Hundreds of small black dots were flying towards them, slowly getting closer.

At the same exact time, Glynn, Martin, Jo-Ann, and himself released a patronus. They all darted off in the direction of the reapers, forcing their retreat as well as keeping them out of the battle.

"Joey! I told you to be in the rafters!" Glynn bellowed, but Martin shook his head at the man.

"That isn't an area of importance, Glynn, don't you even know the castle?" Martin asked impatiently. "We need to be focusing all our energies on the upper levels - didn't you see the north tower fall??"

"I did!" Glynn replied angrily, but Martin ignored him and turned to Joey.

"Are you familiar with that zebra-lady? Zecora?" Martin asked hurriedly.

"Yeah - why?" Joey asked, bewildered by the sudden change of topic.

"We need you and Jo-Ann to find and protect her - she's priority number two for Valkaris," Martin explained quickly. "Now go! Quickly, please!!"

Joey shot Jo-Ann a hesitant look, then started running back towards the castle, dodging more spells and the occasional Minotaur, all of whom attempted to manhandle Joey. As they made their way back into the castle, they found many dead creatures from both sides of the fight. They bolted past them and hurried up the first set of stairs they found.

At the top of the stairs, Joey turned a corner and almost hit a Mauler who was turned the other way. Joey jinxed him in the back, then ran around the unconscious body.

Up another set of stairs, take a left, then a right, then another right, then up another set of stairs...

As he and Jo-Ann reached the top of the stairs, they saw Zecora wandering through the corridor ahead, looking lost and frightened.

"Zecora!" Joey shouted. "Stay there!"

Zecora jumped and faced the two humans coming at her. At first she looked terrified, as if expecting an enemy, but smiled weakly upon seeing Joey. A surprised glint lingered in her eye.

"Ah, it has been so long," she said in her deep, smooth accent. "But why does the Chosen One depart from the throng?"

"We were told to come protect you," Joey said nervously. "But - Chosen One? I think that's a little much..."

"It is you who are to save us all," Zecora said in a strange tone - was it sadness? "It is you whose job it is to answer freedom's call."

That look she was giving him... he could have sworn it was pity - he didn't like it one bit. He looked at Jo-Ann, who shrugged apprehensively. Joey turned to face Zecora again and managed a smile.

"Look... I'm happy you are okay," he said in a falsely cheery voice. "Really. We need to get you to a safe place, though."

"You have feeling, but are not happy," Zecora said seriously. "The death of your friend - 'tis a matter for anything but laughing."

Damn, she's good, Joey thought miserably. He frowned at the zebra and said firmly, "We are not discussing that right now. I don't even know how you knew about - about Naiose, so just leave it alone, okay?"

Zecora recoiled, but nodded understandingly. There was a long, eerie silence - why had the explosions stopped? What was going on?

The earsplitting, magically magnified voice of Lord Valkaris echoed through the castle, shaking its battered foundations.

"YOU ARE ALL FOOLS," it said in a soft tone. "BUT I AM REASONABLE. I WILL GIVE YOU SIXTY MINUTES TO HAND OVER THE BOY - YOU KNOW OF WHOM I SPEAK. HAND OVER THE BOY, AND YOUR LIVES SHALL BE SPARED. HAND OVER THE BOY, AND YOU WILL BE REWARDED. IF YOU DO NOT GIVE TO ME WHAT I SEEK, I SHALL ENTER THE FRAY MYSELF."

There were some screams as this was said.

"I GIVE YOU UNTIL MIDNIGHT."

The grounds fell silent. Joey looked at Jo-Ann, horrified, and felt a weird feeling that he knew of someone else that had been put in this exact situation. But who was it?

"Your father... he is in my head," Zecora said mistily, breaking the silence. "He does not want to talk to me, but you instead."

"I'm - I'm sorry?" Joey asked, not sure if he had heard that right. "He's in your head??"

Zecora nodded her head, then looked at Jo-Ann seriously. "I only need you to come with me through this door," she said, gesturing to a door on her right, Joey's left. "There shall only be you, and no humans more."

Joey was going to comment on her choice of phrasing, but decided the better of it. Instead, he squinted at her and asked suspiciously, "Why do you need only me? Why can't my girlfriend come along?"

"He only wants to see you, for dreadful information he bears," Zecora said, massaging her noggin with a hoof. "He wants to keep the number to one with whom the facts he shares."

Ugh - her phrasing was terrible. Joey ignored this, too.

"Yep. Sounds like my dad - stubborn as all hell," he grumped. He turned to Jo-Ann and put a hand on her shoulder. "I'll be okay - just go downstairs and see if you can help with the injured, or... worse."

Jo-Ann sensed the pent up sorrow behind her boyfriend's strong look, and she couldn't help but admire his ability to hide emotions. She pulled him into a kiss, and kissed him as she never had before. After a long moment, she released him, smiled, then pecked him on the cheek. She hurried off down the direction from which the two of them came.

Joey turned back to Zecora and sighed. "What does he need to tell me?" he asked.

Zecora motioned wordlessly for Joey to follow her, and entered the room to his left. He drew out his wand, knowing that in times like these that you couldn't be too careful.

The room was yet another spare bedroom - spacious, yet unused. Zecora stood in the middle of the room, watching Joey intently as he closed the door. He turned to her, hoping dearly this wasn't a trap. He then decided to use Legilimency - again, he couldn't be too careful.

He looked deep into her eyes, and immediately saw that this was no trap. He withdrew quickly, and looked at the zebra curiously.

"Well? Let's see what he has to tell me," he said.

"First you must place your hand on my head," Zecora said, stepping closer to Joey. "Only there will you be lead."

"Lead by what? My dad?" Joey asked, but Zecora looked at him irritably. "Ahh, alright, alright. Doesn't hurt to ask, sheesh."

He placed his hand on her forehead, and immediately felt a lurching feeling in his gut. He felt his feet leave the floor behind him as he spiraled into her head.

The room around him disappeared, replaced by complete nothingness. Everywhere he turned, he could see white.

Everywhere except right in front of him.

There, clothed (for some odd reason) in a royal purple toga, stood his father.

Without hesitation, Joey leapt to his feet and dashed at his father, who had spread his arms in a welcoming way. The two embraced each other tightly for a moment, then released one another. Joey looked his father up and down.

"So - how'd you get into Zecora's head?" Joey asked, hardly believing he was actually talking to his father again.

His father chuckled and folded his arms. Only then did Joey see how relaxed the man looked - the tired bags under his eyes were nonexistent, his stress wrinkles were gone, his posture was much straighter than it had been in the months leading up to his death... this was a younger version of Rod.

"Well... I'm not entirely sure," Rod said, looking around them at the blank, purely white nothingness that surrounded them. "What I do know is that I can think for myself as if I am still alive - probably because of Zecora's connection to the prophecy."

Joey looked at his dad blankly. "I don't understand."

Rod chuckled again, and spread his arms in a gesture to their empty surroundings. "Well, for starters, we are in Zecora's mind. Well - part of it, anyway."

"P-Part of it?" Joey asked, feeling more confused by the minute.

"Well... through my connection to her through the prophecy, I become sort of a - of a - second consciousness, if you will," Rod explained with a thoughtful look. "I have the ability to think for myself, but I'm also subject to hearing Zecora's thoughts. She, on the other hand, can also hear mine. This is how we are able to communicate with one another."

"What happens when the prophecy is fulfilled?"Joey asked. "What will happen to you?"

"Fade away," his father replied with a sad smile, "Just like the magical bond of the prophecy. Only then will I be able to rest."

Joey felt his jaw go slack. So that was it. He really was gone.

There was a long silence where the two stood in awkward silence - well, awkward for Joey, anyway. Rod stood there, studying his son's face with an unreadable expression.

After a long moment, he spoke. "I am so proud of you."

Joey looked up at the man. "What?"

"Your mission - it's nearly complete," Rod said, looking at his son with a fierce pride in his eyes. "You successfully found all the Horcruxes - including my dead body. I'm really sorry about that last one," he added quickly upon seeing Joey cringe. "What makes me most proud, though, is that you held your head high. You pushed on. You persevered."

"H-How do you know all this??" Joey asked, thinking back to all the moments along his journey where he was struggling mentally. Heck, he still was.

"I've been able to see into the mind of anyone who's connected to the prophecy," Rod replied seriously. "That includes Lord Valkaris."

"Wait - you can see into Valkaris's mind!?" Joey yelped.

"Yeah, I know," Rod replied with a faint smile. "And let me tell you, ever since the battle started, he has been terrified."

"Terrified?" Joey asked blankly, failing to comprehend how such a fearful being could be terrified of anything. "What on earth could he be terrified of?"

"You," Rod said simply.

There was a long pause. "M-Me?" Joey asked.

"Yes - you," his father replied, looking deadly serious. "He has a suspicion that there might be something hidden within the prophecy's magic that could have a deeper meaning. He has a hunch that he is, despite his great power, in danger as you still live."

"What do you mean by this whole 'power of the prophecy's magic' thing?" Joey asked. "I'm not sure I understand... it seems to be really significant. How can it control all this stuff if it's only a prophecy?"

"In the culture you grew up in back home, prophecies are no more than speculations - a guideline, if you will, that the characters involved are convinced they have to follow," Rod explained. "They are there, but not really considered. They are merely ideas and predictions - in other words, it's up to the characters involved to determine whether it happens or not.

"That is not how prophecies are in real life. They are the complete opposite - in the rare occasion that a prophecy is made, avoiding it is impossible. Prophecies in real life are unavoidable - whatever it says is an inevitability. The magic of the prophecy creates an unbreakable magical bond between anyone mentioned by it - untouchable and, as I said earlier, unavoidable. The only way you can break the connection is by fulfilling the prophecy - only then can your fate be up to you."

"So that's why Valkaris is afraid of me?" Joey asked, feeling much less confused.

"Well - yeah," Rod replied. "Remember what the prophecy says? The rebel shall give or take sacrifice, one calling on his final breath - the 'rebel' in the prophecy is me - and I was sacrificed for a greater cause. By doing so, I turned Valkaris's best lieutenant against him."

"Bergemann??" Joey asked in disbelief.

Rod nodded. "The very same. The magic of family is a deep and complex branch of magic... it can dispose of the deepest of evils. By killing me, Derek broke his obsession with the Dark Arts. Even in his deepest evil, he had love - something that Lord Valkaris still fails to see. Not only that, Valkaris does not hold that special power within himself, which will be his downfall."

Joey looked at the floor in a stunned silence. "So - so you're saying that he's -"

"On your side now?" Rod interrupted with a smile. "Yes. Yes he is."

"Damn," Joey said quietly, then looked around. He then looked at his father. "You said that family is its own branch of magic. What did you mean?"

"Well, I can't tell you everything about it, as so much of its overwhelming power is unknown," Rod replied. "I can tell you what is known, which is very little. As I said moments ago, the power of family can overcome the deepest of evils - like the Imperius Curse, for example. Don't ask me to list other stuff, because I have no clue if there are others - I mean, there are minor curses and harmful spells, obviously - but I'm talking about the big stuff.

"All I know that is the power of family doesn't make you invincible - quite the opposite, actually. It undoes evil magic - it doesn't prevent it. If there is a particular moment when the family magic gets stronger through the power of two immensely powerful emotions - like unbearable grief combined with intense determination, for example - only then will it be able to do its work."

"Wow..." Joey said quietly, then sank into a long silence. "Is there anything else Valkaris doesn't know?"

"Well, his knowledge about the soul switch remains woefully incomplete," Rod said with a victorious glint in his eye. "That'll hurt him in the long run - or maybe even in the short run."

The soul switch. Joey looked back at his father.

"How do I undo the Soul Switch spell?" he asked excitedly. "You said there was a spell - what do I have to do?"

His father's face fell. "Oh - that... right."

Joey felt a lump in his throat. "Is something wrong?"

His dad sighed, then looked away, unable to meet his own son in the eyes. That was not a good sign.

"Dad...?" Joey asked nervously.

"You remember what the prophecy said?" his father asked wearily.

"Er... parts of it," Joey said nervously. "W-Why?"

"The Dark Lord has powers his enemy knows not, but his enemy holds the last breath that shall be his end," Rod said, looking Joey in the eyes apprehensively. What was that expression? Pity?

"Yeah... but you said there's a spell," Joey replied desperately.

"There is no spell," Rod said bitterly, looking down at his feet. "I lied to you so that you would be happy and unconcerned."

"Then how do you break a Soul Switch spell?" Joey asked, fearing the answer.

"Neither will exist as his foe still lives," his dad recited sadly. "I think you know what it means."

"Do I... do I have to die?" Joey asked, fear coursing through his veins.

His dad closed his eyes, somber, and nodded slowly.

The vision around him came crashing down, and Joey felt himself leave Zecora's mind and reenter the cold world beyond.

He was back in the corridor with his hand outstretched to where Zecora's head had previously been. The zebra had backed up, looking at Joey with an immense sadness taking control of her facial features.

Joey looked at the ground in numb shock. None of it mattered anymore... it had been fruitless to hope. For neither could exist while the other still lives... it was true. It was inevitable.

In order to bring balance back to the world, he had to die.