A Tale of Sparkles and Black Magic

“Mahad, what are you doing here!?” Black Magician Girl shouted, breaking from her shocked stupor.

“I told myself I would come after you if you failed to come back after a couple of days,” he explained, never once keeping his eyes off of Dio’s regenerating head. He smiled softly. “Imagine my pride when I come here to see that you’re protecting innocent people from a creature out of nightmares. Am I correct that this creature is a vampiric chimera of sorts?”

“Y-yeah, something like that,” she replied, still a little shaken. “It’s only weakness is sunlight, but—”

“Hold, my pupil,” Black Magician cut her off. “Ready your staff.”

Dio’s head finished reforming. The expression that adorned his face as he looked at them was like looking into the eyes of a gorgon; petrifying to one held in the grip of fear. But having her mentor by her side gave Black Magician Girl the boost of resolve she needed to stand tall, confident that the fight was already won. Dio looked between them, his eyes eventually settling on Black Magician, deciding that he was the bigger threat between them. Even Black Magician Girl’s pride had to agree with this observation.

“Throw a hundred otherworldly opponents at me, I will slaughter them all!” Dio shouted. Whereas before his demeanor boasted of self-assuredness, now, mixed in with the maniacal gleam in his eyes, there was a noticeable amount of worry. “I won’t lose my chance for power to the likes of you!”

He fired yet another round of laser vision.

“Behind me, Mana!”

“Right!”

Black Magician Girl stood behind her mentor. He raised his staff, conjuring a Mirror Force variant of the Holy Barrier magic before them. Dio’s attack bounced off like a rubber ball, sailing back towards him at blinding speed. So fast was it that he didn’t have enough time to protect his body with ice. The lasers blasted clean through his forehead, piercing his brain, eliciting a gasp from him. It didn’t do any major damage, but the intended effect was successful: Black Magician had showcased his strength, that which dwarfed Black Magician Girl’s own tenfold.

While Dio was recovering, Black Magician turned to her. “Finish what you were saying before.”

“Right.” She kept her voice low, hopefully out of Dio’s earshot. “This land has a pony who raises the sun named Princess Celestia. Dio killed her, but if you can perform Resurrection of the Dead on her, she can use her power to kill him once and for all.” She refrained from telling him about the promise she’d already made about resurrecting everyone who’d died.

Black Magician, expectedly, had reservations about performing the high level magic. “If that’s what it takes,” he said after a few moments of deliberation. “Where is she?”

Black Magician Girl pointed up at the balcony. At that moment, Dio recovered from his latest injury. With a furious cry, he charged directly at them. Black Magician put up yet another Mirror Force shield to meet Dio’s paw as it swiped down at them. Dio pushed against the magic with all his might, visibly straining under the incredible power of its caster. Black Magician Girl felt her heart skip a beat when the shield cracked a bit, but Dio was quickly blown backward, landing haphazardly splayed over a hedge.

“Mana, it’s time to unleash our combined power!”

“Right, my teacher!”

They joined their staff tips together. A ball of crackling purple magic appeared between them, growing with each passing second. The power was so great that it propelled them into the air.

“Black Twin Burst!” they cried in unison.

The magic discharged in the form of a stream, flying down through the air at lightning speed. Dio only had time to lift his head before the magic hit his body, exploding him into a shower of blood and guts that littered the entire surface area of the gardens. Black Magician Girl wailed as several chunks of him rained down upon her, getting all over her clothes and in her hair. Frantically, she tried to brush it all off while Black Magician just shook his head, exasperated by her behavior, as they gently descended back to the ground.

“Ick! Ick! Ick!” she repeated. “By Ra’s wings, please let these stains come out!”

“Enough, my pupil,” Black Magician said, drawing her attention. Dio’s flesh began regenerating as he spoke. “I’ll make my way inside and revive this Princess Celestia. Your job is to keep Dio distracted for long enough.” He placed a hand on her shoulder, unmindful of the blood patch he was touching. “You’ve held him off for so long already. Can I trust you to do it for a little while longer?”

“Of course you can!” Black Magician Girl promised. “Don’t I do a great job distracting you already?” she added teasingly.

“Regrettably, yes.”

He disappeared in a teleport, reappearing up on the balcony. He exchanged a few words with Twilight before she led him inside, out of Black Magician Girl’s sight. She turned her attention back to Dio, patiently waiting for him to regenerate. Various ideas for how she could mess around with his flesh crossed her mind, but it ultimately wasn’t worth the effort if she had to touch it with her fingers. A few good ideas did form in her mind for how to distract Dio.

Dio’s face reformed a few seconds later. He snarled at her, but relief showed on his face upon seeing that Black Magician Girl was on her own now. Whether he might have had any inkling of what their plan was didn’t matter. Black Magician Girl pointed her staff at him, to which he prepared his feet to dodge. She smirked. Instead of launching an offensive projectile, a green hexagram pattern appeared, entrapping Dio much to his confusion. Runic language appeared around the circumference, completing the Hexagram Curse.

“What is this?” Dio tried touching the hexagram pattern. It was solid, and the lines were tight enough that his following attempt to escape was thwarted. He growled, trying again but to no success.

“Seems like you might need to work out a bit,” Black Magician Girl teased, drawing his attention. “I know a few duel spirits that love working out. Maybe you’ll get a chance to become a spirit and meet them.” She giggled.

“You bitch!”

Dio fired off another round of laser vision, which she easily reflected with her Magic Cylinder, hitting the reflected shot in his head. He was boiling with rage by now and began struggling even harder to break the Hexagram Curse once he recovered again. As powerful as her magic was, it could still be broken by physical means, and Dio certainly might be capable of doing so. But she was amazing at distracting people.

“Hey, Dio, what kind of girl do you like?” she asked, trying to come across as sweet and innocent.

He made no verbal response aside from growling again, glaring icy daggers at her. Once his gaze was on hers, she turned around and, without any hesitation, lifted up her skirt. Her panties were presented clear as day under all the different light sources from the stars, several oil lamps set up around the gardens, and the light given off by the golden barrier. Dio’s eyes lit up and his cheeks flushed pink, prompting Black Magician Girl to wink and giggle at him

Dio shook his head furiously, resuming his death glare at her. “I will not fall to such childish attempts at seduction!”

“Who said I’m trying to seduce you?” Black Magician Girl blew a wuff of air, flipping her hair while adopting a disinterested look. “Really, you’re not my type. I’m more into muscly guys who know how to handle a sword. Oh, and fight for the side of good, of course. Also, your hair isn’t spiky enough for my liking.”

The rage coloring Dio’s face could melt steel. She blew him a kiss for added effect, prompting him to attempt slicing the Hexagram Curse with his laser vision. This didn’t work, thankfully, so he tried freezing it, again with no success. He roared and began hammering it with his limbs, even chomping on it with his fanged jaw. His efforts, whether he knew it or not, did have an effect on the curse. Black Magician Girl could feel the strain on the magic with each blow, both physical and vampiric, the visible effects of which, while apparently invisible to his eyes, she could feel within the magic.

Minutes passed without him ever pausing his attempts to break free of the Hexagram Curse, even to try attacking her again. Black Magician Girl glanced up at the balcony every now and then but never once did she see her mentor or a revived Celestia. Resurrection of the Dead was a spell that took a long time, so, essentially, it was a race against time. A race that Dio began gaining ground on as she started feeling an enormous strain on the hexagram. He must have noticed visible cracks on the surface as a wide smile split his face. He increased his efforts. Maintaining the curse was enough of a strain on Black Magician Girl’s part, so she didn’t put forth the extra effort to keep it in place.

Finally, with one final, mighty slam, Dio smashed the Hexagram Curse, shattering the magic into hundreds of green sparkles that dissipated into the air. Without even bothering with her, Dio immediately charged the barrier and began furiously pounding against it. Black Magician Girl stood by silently, allowing her magic to recharge rather than attempt to stop him. The barrier visibly shook under his blows, the crack from earlier reappearing and growing larger as he continuously attacked it. His efforts spoke to a desperate realization that the tide of battle was now working hard against him. Black Magician Girl glanced up at the balcony again.

She smirked.

With a final blow, the shield shattered, dissipating much the same way as Hexagram Curse. Dio let out a mighty, joyous cry. His gaze turned upward, at which point his cry was immediately silenced. Standing tall and regal on the balcony, Black Magician right beside her with his arms crossed and looking severely down at Dio, was Princess Celestia. Her horn was lit, expression a mixture of determination and serenity.

“No!” Dio shouted. “I’ve come too far to fail now!”

He dashed forward towards the castle wall. Another round of laser vision was shot, cutting a hole in the wall big enough for him to fit through. He dashed forward, intending to hide within the castle’s shadows, to protect himself from the sun. He only got his upper body beyond the walls before another Hexagram Curse entrapped him. At this point, panicked, fearful breaths began escaping him. His lower body was still laid on the grass of the gardens, out of the shade’s protection.

The sky lit with the warmth of the rising sun from beyond the mountain. Black Magician Girl watched, relief and hope filling her heart, as the sun gradually crested the mountain, climbing higher and higher into the sky. The sunlight spread across the gardens, creeping closer to Dio’s position. His face was that of a man staring into the jaws of death, frightened beyond measure. The sunlight reached his lower body, at which point it instantly disintegrated into dust. He cried out in immense agony.

“You’ll pay for this with your lives!” he shouted.

Losing his lower body broke him free of the hexagram, allowing him to begin crawling deeper into the castle, leaving a trail of blood and organs in his slow wake. Princess Celestia leapt off the balcony, spreading her wings into a graceful glide to the ground. Black Magician teleported off the balcony while Black Magician Girl stepped forward to meet them. All three of them stood side by side, staring at the broken, bisected, inhuman form of Dio Brando. Locking eyes with them, even when defeat was guaranteed, he still met their gazes with his enraged, murderous own. The idea that he was about to die was, apparently, hard for him to accept.

“Dio Brando, for your crimes against my little ponies…” Celestia trailed off, closing her eyes. Looking at her, Black Magician Girl could see she was conflicted. Her next words came out a little forcefully. “I sentence you to death. This time, the deed will be done.”

Dio fired another round of laser vision, only for Black Magician to conjure up another Mirror Force barrier which deflected the blast. Dio appeared to try again, but no pressurized fluid escaped from him this time. Another try once again yielded zero results. The panic in his eyes made it clear his power had been drained. The rage disappeared from his eyes, replaced by a pleading look.

“May you find peace in death,” Celestia continued, ignoring his silent plea for mercy.

She lit her horn, charging it with the full power of sunlight. Dio began pleading directly, begging for her mercy, but it quickly became clear that none was coming, so he tried to escape. He crept forward, using his forelegs to pull himself forward, back turned to the three of them. Celestia’s charging magic made no sounds, but the light it cast grew brighter the longer it took. Once she cast the magic, there was no doubt that Dio knew even before it smashed into him. His entire body lit up in a blinding white light, screams filling the air around them. The last coherent words he ever spoke reeked of petty delusion.

“Impossible! I’m Dio! I’m Dioooooo!”

He went silent. The light remained for several more seconds before fading. Nothing but a gigantic pile of dust remained where Dio’s stolen chimera body was a moment before. A gigantic pile of dust that scattered as a light breeze blew through the hole in the castle.

Black Magician Girl slumped to the ground, exhaustion overtaking her. “Finally, it’s over.”

“So it is,” Black Magician dryly noted.

Celestia’s gaze never left Dio’s ashes as she said, “What could inspire such evil in a person?”

“Such people exist aplenty in the Spirit World,” Black Magician said. “Evil comes in many forms, from many origins, but it never stops growing until heroes stand against it.”

“Well said,” Celestia said.

The flapping of wings behind the three of them drew their attention to the arrival of Green Gale and her crew. Excited smiles decorated their faces.

“You did it! You saved all of us!” she cried, looking at the three of them. “Equestria is saved from that monster!” She hurried forward, shoving a crystal in Black Magician Girl’s face. “How are you feeling now!?”

Black Magician Girl glanced down at the crystal, confused, before saying, “Really tired. I need to recharge my magic.”

“Excellent!” She shifted the crystal over to Black Magician, only for Celestia to gently brush it aside with a wing, glaring sharply at the excited pegasus.

“There will be plenty of time for interviews later,” she said. Her gaze fell upon Black Magician Girl. “Perhaps now is the time to explain to your teacher the promise you made?”

Black Magician’s eyebrow raised. He glanced down at her as well, confusion written plainly across his face. Black Magician Girl felt a lump form in her throat at the same time her stomach twisted into a knot. There was no choice other than to confess, but a small part of her tried to calculate how far she could run before it was too late, regardless.

A nervous laugh escaped her before she said, “Well, I maybe, sorta, kinda promised you’d revive everyone that Dio killed. Like, every single one.”

Black Magician’s face didn’t change, but she could imagine all kinds of verbal lashings running through his mind about making promises that she couldn’t uphold herself. But before he could speak any of them, a sealed scroll popped into existence before Celestia’s face, surprising everyone. She used her magic to undo the seal and proceeded to read the contents, a smile breaking out onto her face by the time she finished.

“It appears the Royal Guard has located Zecora’s decapitated body,” she relayed, teleporting the scroll away. “I do believe all of Dio’s victims are accounted for with that.”

Everyone waited for Black Magician to give his answer. He remained stoic, unreadable, much to Black Magician Girl’s continued anxiety and annoyance. Eventually, and much to her surprise, he reached a hand down to help her up. She accepted his hand, hoisting herself to stand upright, adopting a posture of militaristic obedience. Now wasn’t the time for silliness, not by a long shot.

“How many victims are there?” he finally asked.

Black Magician Girl blinked. “Um… I dunno. Hundreds, at least.”

Black Magician rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Then this will take a while. You will be helping me.”

It took a moment for his answer to register. Black Magician Girl’s eyes widened, she smiled broadly, and her hands clasped together.

“You mean you’ll be teaching me Resurrection of the Dead!?”

Black Magician nodded.

Black Magician Girl’s eyes sparkled, only for her teacher to put a hand up, forestalling her cheer.

“You’ll be cleaning the library when we return. Every week. For three moons.”

Horrific images of her cute outfit covered in grime and dust materialized in her mind. Not to mention cobwebs. Lots and lots of cobwebs. She gulped, forcing herself to nod her acceptance.

“Also, you must promise not to mention anything of this to the Demon King,” Black Magician added. “I doubt he would mind us using this power en masse in another world, but better safe than sorry.”

“I understand.”

“Good.” Black Magician pushed past the ponies, gesturing for his pupil to follow.

Celestia placed a wing over Black Magician Girl as she followed, falling into step beside her. She lightly nuzzled her, making Black Magician Girl slightly blush.

“I am forever in your debt,” Celestia said softly. A single tear rolled down her cheek.

“You’re welcome.” A thought crossed Black Magician Girl’s mind and she asked. “What’s death like for someone who isn’t a Duel Spirit?”

The question, surprisingly, prompted a giggle from Celestia. “I’m not exactly a normal person in this world, so my experience is different from that of my subjects,” she explained. “Rest assured, however, that death should not be feared. I can only assume that same advice might apply in your own culture.”

Black Magician Girl raised an eyebrow. “You don’t like giving straight answers, do you?”

Celestia rolled her eyes upward in a cheeky manner.