Thanks to her otherworldly origin, Lotus had been in more than her fair share of powerful spells.
It took considerable magical might to warp between worlds, transform humans into griffons, and theoretically find a way to change back. Even if some of those drives no longer remained, the experience she had gained would follow her, elevating her competence far beyond where it should've naturally stood.
Even so, casting a spell with Twilight Sparkle felt a bit like walking into the wrong classroom, one teaching a much more advanced subject. To compare their different skill levels was an exercise in complete futility.
It was probably for the best that Twilight Sparkle was doing most of the work to cast the incredible spell. Lotus watched from the center of that circle, observing her technique the way a new student of the piano might watch the private concert of a virtuoso. Words filled the study, words that were somehow poetry and music given form.
Sunlight outside dimmed to a dull glow, the distant sounds of Ponyville life faded into the background. It was as though the universe itself grew quiet to listen, every atom poised with the same intensity as Lotus herself. Light erupted along the lines of the spell, illuminating the patterns Lotus and Twilight had conceived together.
She could allow herself a touch of pride in her contributions. Even if Princess Twilight deserved the lion's share of the credit, Lotus had helped. So long as the spell didn't leave a gaping hole in her sanity or kill whatever was left of the spirit inside her, she would take only pride from her addition.
The voice didn't try to speak, or else risk breaking Lotus's own concentration. She would only have a few words to offer to the spell, but those could undo their effort and slay the ancient mind as easily as anything Twilight herself could do.
With her horn, Lotus felt the supply of magic growing overhead, like water pumped into a tank. Every drop added to the deluge that would soon follow.
But that outpouring couldn't come from Twilight alone. The soul was contained inside Lotus's own body, even if it wasn't her own. Eventually it was her turn, to read the little piece of magic at the end that would unleash it. She couldn't levitate the scroll at the same time, or else risk interfering with the incredibly delicate operation.
Goodbye, Lotus, whispered a little voice, deep into her head. In the end, you did bring me back to my world.
Lotus began to read. Her words were far simpler, though they came with unspoken complexity within her mind.
"The gift of life was refused, scorching away the living world and refusing to plant new. What hatred cast away we sever, and breath I give anew. Flames we forsake, no more lives to take. This chosen end, broken soul in two parts, never whole."
Princess Twilight could say all she wanted about the magic being completely safe and painless—the truth came in the impact.
The blast might not have targeted her, but she was directly in the epicenter. It felt a little like a small explosive detonated there, throwing her off her hooves and directly into a crystal wall.
Lotus squealed and flailed, trying and failing to catch herself with her magic in time.
Iron Feather was quicker on his hooves. He leapt into the air with superhuman speed, zipping the short distance and spreading his legs wide. They slammed against the wall together.
Hard enough that the pegasus grunted from the impact, before sliding slowly to the ground.
Lotus saw very little at first, her senses utterly overwhelmed by the magic. She drew a few struggling breaths, her vision only just beginning to clear. Iron Feather sat up around her, holding her with one foreleg. Whatever he said was lost against her ringing ears, though she could at least see his mouth moving.
Twilight reached her a few seconds later. Her horn glowed, a thin stream of mist rising from the edge. Somehow the Alicorn still had the strength to cast her own spell.
"Lotus Cinder, are you with us? Not feeling any horrifying wounds to your soul?"
What would that even feel like? She squirmed, flexing each of her hooves in turn. That was what you were supposed to do after a hard blow, right? Thanks to Iron Feather, she was only a little stunned.
"Don't think so. Feels... okay." She turned to the stallion behind her. "You good?"
He nodded. "Armor took the worst of it, I think. Lots of padding."
They both stood. Lotus struggled to put the weight on her hooves at first, but Iron was there to keep her from falling.
Gus kept from getting in the way, though he did gesture for Spike to get closer, and the two crossed the scorched remnants of the spell. Would it end up making its way to a video sharing site one day?
"We would know if you got into the spell's way," Twilight said. "We might not fully understand how kirin work, but we can still guess. No horrific agony? Pain you can barely imagine or comprehend?"
She shook her head once. "Wait, did we do that to Searing Gale?"
The Alicorn shifted nervously on her hooves. "She did the cutting part herself a long time ago. Still, I can't imagine it was very pleasant for her. She'll know what we did, and where we were when we did it. Which is why we brought the airship. The last place to battle an angry kirin is over a populated area."
She waved Lotus over, pointing her horn at her again. "We just need to... be certain. The spell won't work if her kirin fragment didn't survive."
Still in there? she thought. She wasn't worried about the spirit; she could never admit to that. Her curiosity remained—if some remnant of the evil spellbook's mind was intact, she had to know.
There was no reply. No attention focused on her, no being briefly surfaced in her thoughts before fading again. Nothing at all, in fact.
Twilight's horn glowed again, washing over Lotus. Twilight's face flashed from worry to relief in a second. "Good. She's still alive. We did it, Lotus. Exactly what we hoped we would."
She looked up, and her discomfort turned to exasperation. "Spike? What is that?"
"It's a camera!" he said, tilting the Steadicam gimbal slightly to one side. "See? Gutsy said we were making a recording for posterity. I thought you loved history!"
Her eyes narrowed. She managed a frustrated sigh before turning away again. "I'm going to teleport us directly aboard. If everypony could stand close—I don't want to leave any limbs behind."
Lotus moved close to her, with Iron just beside her. Gus and Spike huddled on her other side, all within a few inches of each other.
"On the count of three. One... two..."
Lotus opened her eyes again and found the crystal walls transformed. They were surrounded by metal. Another airship, exactly like the Svalinn. Lotus saw that doomed ship in her mind, its halls filled with smoke and terrified voices. "Is it really a good idea to fly another one of these?"
Twilight and Iron were still there, yet... Gus and Spike were nowhere in sight. Ponies shuffled around a brightly-lit space, the bridge. The blend of brass and crystal controls were more or less the same as the Svalinn, along with the glowing map-table. No sign of Captain Inclination at least.
"You didn't bring Spike?" asked another familiar voice. Princess Luna herself occupied the captain's chair, and even wore one of the fancy hats. "Surely your dragon had nothing to fear from the Nirik."
Twilight shrugged her wings. "I need to save my strength for the spell. The fewer teleports I need to make, the more of that strength I can use against Searing.”
But as she said it, Lotus found the explanation rang hollow. Twilight couldn’t be serious, could she? Two more people would really make a difference?
She imagined it there in her mind, poor Gus and Spike standing at the ready, cameras primed, only to find the room emptied without them.
He’s going to be furious. At least Lotus had plausible deniability this time. She didn’t want to bring him any more than Twilight did, but she had no idea what the princess was planning. She didn’t have to think about his frustration right now, though. She had her own nightmares to worry about.
“Do we have a heading?” Twilight asked.
Another pony answered, near the huge front window. "Yes, princess. Reports of a wildfire kindled just north of Motherlode. About one hour at full speed."
Princess Luna looked once between them, "What about you, Lotus Cinder? Are you prepared for the final confrontation."
Her ears were still ringing. Under magical senses, Lotus probably still had smoke rising from her coat, the remnant energy of a single incredible spell. She nodded anyway. "I'm told I don't even have to do anything. I'll just be joining a spell, right?"
"I wouldn't say nothing," Twilight said from just behind her, catching her shoulder with a wing. “Just nothing we could tell you about until we cast that other one. Any connection leading back to Searing Gale might be enough to warn her."
"You have an hour to prepare," Princess Luna said. "Perhaps somewhat less. That timeline does rely on the assumption that Searing Gale will not respond to our actions."
Lotus straightened, brushing her mane into something approaching order with a little magic. If there was one advantage to joining Twilight's spell instead of casting her own, it was that Lotus hadn't really used much of her magic. If I have to help evacuate another crashing airship, I'll be ready.
"They're in the cargo hold," Twilight said, gesturing to the open doorway. "You can join us too, Iron. Lotus might need your help."
He saluted, though the gesture was visibly stiff and strained compared to his usual speed. Even Iron couldn't pretend he'd been completely unaffected by the impact.
Lotus watched him while they walked, searching for any signs of injuries he might be trying to hide. His legs weren't broken, and both his wings moved through the opening in his huge armor.
He's just tougher than me, it's okay. Good thing he was there.
"I hope your friend won't be that upset we left him behind," Twilight said, as soon as they were out into the hallway. They reached a familiar set of steps not long after and were soon descending through the levels.
It's just the same class of ship. It's okay. We have two Alicorns this time instead of one. Princess Luna had obviously weathered one encounter with the Nirik without suffering some critical injury in the process.
"He'll be bitter about it for a little while," Lotus said. "But I think deep down he knows this is smarter. He likes filming stuff, but he's not a war photographer. He would just be one more person for Searing Gale to hurt to get at me."
"I thought so." Twilight continued a little further, first around a corner and then through a heavy metal door. The airship rumbled and shook under their hooves. Less dramatic than a commercial flight. "The ideal number of ponies to bring into a situation like this is always the smallest possible number. But separating you from your partner—I don't believe either of you would be happy about it."
"No, ma'am," Iron said. "I don't think I would."
They walked past Engineering to another door. This one was locked, though magic within reached through the steel with barely any resistance. "The other team should be ready for us inside. It's already started, but some of the casting will require Lotus's help."
"Are you going to tell me what I'm doing exactly?" And if Spark was right and they planned to kill her, the spirit wouldn't even be able to gloat.
Twilight's horn glowed again, and the heavy door opened. Inside was a huge space, about fifty feet wide and continuing for what must be the entire length of the airship. Whatever supplies were supposed to be in here were all completely gone, except for a dense pile of crates and shelves near the center. A half-dozen unicorns gathered around another spell diagram, this one much larger than the one Twilight and Lotus had used.
Even with the huge loading doors shut, air still roared through the room, so loud ponies would have to shout just to speak to each other.
Unless they had the magic of an Alicorn princess, anyway. Twilight didn't raise her voice, only lifted one wing and held it beside Lotus. The wind quieted around them, along with the voices of unicorns shouting to one another.
"Searing Gale isn't alive—no Nirik is. But none of the magic meant to turn against a necromancer will work against a typical Nirik—because they have a living half, holding them in this reality. Once the supply of magic dries up, they change back. But Searing Gale doesn't have another form. She tried to destroy it, and we just severed it for good."
Lotus listened carefully, though that didn't mean anything the Alicorn said made sense. These were kinds of magic she had never learned, since they weren't useful for traveling between worlds or changing someone back into a human being.
"Where do I come in? Another spell you want to use on the baby?"
Twilight shook her head sharply. "We broke that connection—your foal isn't bound to her anymore. But you are! Her magic transformed you. Some of it is probably still part of you—that’s why you're so much stronger than most ponies. If you help cast the spell, we won't have to worry about her magical defenses. She won't be able to burn the magic away."
Not the baby. That shouldn't make her relieved—it wasn't like she would be in any less danger while helping Twilight. If she died, the foal would die with her.
Instinct didn't have to make sense.
"You think I could learn fast enough to help?"
Twilight nodded without hesitation. "You demonstrated your talent rather conclusively," she said. Twilight led her to the shelves, and several waiting unicorns. She knew them all by sight, though not all their names were known to her.
Starswirl stepped out from behind the shelf, approaching quickly. He carried a scroll in his magic as he moved, holding it towards Lotus. "You made it? Excellent. Not that I doubted—Princess Twilight would not have allowed a spell of that nature without verifying its safety."
She took it, unfurling it so the complex runes on its surface were facing her. Yet this time there was no voice to help explain them or speculate at how the spell might actually work. She was on her own.
"She did well," Twilight said. "Good thing too. I might need her to pick up some of the slack during this next casting. I've never cast a spell on somepony's soul before."
Just as she feared, the spell belonged to a completely different school of magic than the ones she had practiced, its twisting curves and interlocking runes the work of masters.
"I have to learn all this in an hour?" she asked, her tail curling around her legs. She backed away, bumping up against Iron. The pegasus caught her, holding her with an extended wing. Yet he remained silent, waiting for Twilight to answer.
"Of course not!" Starswirl said. "Perhaps the princess could manage that feat—we would not expect it of anypony else. Focus on that clause in the center. Your sympathetic connection with the Nirik will help us target her. Physical proximity will make up for any shortfall."
"I'll keep out of your way," Iron said. "But I won't be far. Whatever you need, ask." He held her for another few seconds, before pulling the wing away again.
The center was no less detailed and complex than the rest—but having only a single confined goal would make the task far easier.
Not easy, but at least within the realm of things Lotus could actually do. Twilight led her to a desk along the wall, beside the spell diagram written directly onto the floor. That far away, there was no danger of accidentally defacing the diagram.
"There's no telling when we'll meet Searing Gale!" Twilight yelled, her voice carrying over the rushing wind. "I want everypony ready to cast at a moment's notice! Princess Luna will endeavor to hold her off while we work. But we won't have long! Even the best shields can't last against a Nirik’s flame!"
She gestured, and several unicorns moved into place around the diagram. Counting the princess, there would be six casters along the edge—and one in the center.
Can't believe they talked me into this, Spark. If we get burned alive...
No answer, of course. The mind was gone. The one it belonged to might get a second chance, if she could live through the day.
Lotus Cinder didn't even have ten minutes to read before alarms started to blare, and panicked voices echoed over the speakers. "Dead ahead! Coming right for us—it's huge! More powerful than any automaton or golem, with the Nirik inside!"
She had no windows to see what they meant. But she could feel it when she closed her eyes, a presence in the air. Not a pony anymore, not even close to the one who had visited Hono to win over its residents. She felt it like a great gulf, a hole in the sky drawing magic down into obliteration.
"She's coming!" Twilight called. "Hope everypony is ready! That includes you, Lotus... it's time for some magic!"
No pressure. There's just a country depending on me. And if I fail, I get burned alive by a monster.
"Traitor!" boomed a voice, so loud it shook the ship beneath her feet. "Dagger in my chest! Blade of my own kind! Forsaken! You will know the wages of your treachery, Lotus Cinder!"