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XCOM: Ranger

by Wanderer D

Chapter 113: Chapter 111: Shadows

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Ranger

Chapter 111: Shadows

By Wanderer D

"It seems like such small thing," Sunset said, holding the small gem against the light above.

Usually she would be performing tests, sending her magic through it, trying to sense the secrets within it… but right now, all she could do was ponder.

Why had Aria (both of them) insisted that she have it? Was it truly created by blood magic? Was the implication from Aria, that she and her sisters had been… different before they became sirens? Or were they sirens that later on became monsters of legend? Was it true that they had all practiced forbidden magic?

Even though she had been practicing blood magic for a while now, she was, in her own estimation, still an apprentice. Earlier on, the darker, more powerful secrets of it had been tempting, but Celestia's education hadn't been in vain.

And she wasn't stupid either. She had stuck to the very beginning of the book and mastered every single part before moving on to the next. That the lack of a magical field made it take longer wasn't an issue… until now.

Now she had temptation again. Physical, promising, unknown… and old. A wealth of knowledge and power.

She felt (and saw) the approaching human figure, and quickly hid the gem, releasing her spell.

Sunset frowned. "When did I… cast it?"

"And how are you doing today?" Laetitia asked, smiling encouragingly as she took a seat next to Sunset's bed.

"Bored." Sunset sighed, turning her head to look at the stack of books and pads that had been brought to her. Everything from fiction (from Jane), to coding books (from Twilight), to survival guides (from Elena), to old literary classics (Annette), to trashy novels (Laetitia AND Angel). "I've gone through the whole thing."

Laetitia raised an eyebrow. "You're supposed to enjoy your rest, not marathon-read what we brought to keep you distracted."

"It's been a week!"

"Well, yes, you were tossed around like a ragdoll, what did you expect would happen?"

"Magic."

"Nice try, but unfortunately for you—and our ears—Twilight had a lot to say on the dangers of using healing spells on someone with active blood magic without proper training, and her brief writings to the Princesses confirmed these declarations."

"Yes well, I'd rather she tried."

"Not all are desperate enough to attempt field magical medicine in the face of imminent death when there is medical equipment and trained personnel around for the safer approach," Laetitia said.

"Whatever." Sunset sighed resting her head on her pillow and staring straight up. "I'm, just glad she's talking to me again. It was kind of unnerving how… she pushed me away. Even though she still has trouble talking to me. I don't even know what happened."

"I'm sure she will come around," Laetitia said, smiling as she took Sunset's hand in her own. "She's been opening up to counselor Luna." Her smile became a bit strained. "That woman has a… unique take on the process, but I can't argue with the results."

Sunset gave her a knowing look. "You have been avoiding her again, haven't you?"

Laetitia smiled and looked down. "I am that easy to read, yes?"

"Only when you're trying to use me as an excuse to avoid her. What has you so spooked?"

Laetitia's smile faded a little. "There are many things I've come to understand about myself, Sunset… and many things I've come to accept as inevitable… they are very personal, deep feelings and realizations. Not something I wish to bring to light with another like me."

Sunset raised an eyebrow. "She's psychic?"

"Trained in psychology."

"Right."

Laetitia gave Sunset a pout. "You don't believe me?"

"I just think… we're all a bunch of overly-stressed, over-equipped, over-trained specialist one french fry away from becoming a full happy meal."

Laetitia blinked twice, looking down at Sunset in confusion. "A… happy meal?"

Sunset grinned, shrugging. "No clue. It's something that Bradford said a couple of times while we were on travel. He actually said Geist was like that. One french fry away…"

"...from becoming a happy meal," Laetitia finished. "Huh. Must be an old world thing."

"Must be," Sunset agreed. "But it is true. We seem to all be crazy here."

"I must admit it probably takes a little bit of that to survive," Laetitia said. "Geist always said that we'd be deemed lunatics, should the average human ever meet a Templar such as myself. That the psionic gift—and all that came with it—would confuse and scare them, and as such, it was easier for them to project their insecurities at us."

"Huh, sounds like old unicorn traditionalist propaganda," Sunset said, looking at her friend. "Used to be that thousands of years ago, in Equestria, unicorns told each other that they were better that the other races. That their magic made them unique. That their understanding of mysteries beyond the knowledge of mere Earth Ponies or Pegasi was something they would fear and deem a lie.

"Of course, later on, in retrospect, history taught us that Earth Ponies were in turn disdainful of the other two races because they were out of touch with the living world and its cycles. Because unicorns and pegasi were not strong, nor able to take on the whims of nature and persevere."

Sunset smirked. "And of course Pegasi were the same. Earth Ponies were stuck on their ways, unable to change even if the world was collapsing on top of them. Unicorns were too studious, worried with theory and understanding of things that were ultimately inconsequential, while it was they, the noble Pegasi, who bent the sky and wind and seasons to their will."

"I assume that changed?"

"Not completely," Sunset said with a sigh. "There are still unicorns that are full of themselves. I know one of them. Sunset Shimmer. Total bitch. But yeah, for the most part… they understood that not being the same—or even believing the same things—didn't impede their cooperation and tolerance."

"Must be idyllic now."

"There's always something…" Sunset sighed. "A moment when tolerance allows for hatred to grow more powerful, because tolerance is a paradox… and creatures like King Sombra grew more powerful, unimpeded… all because we took toleration to the extreme and let his particular brand of hate and genocidal tendencies go unchecked… so an entire race of ponies was enslaved and eventually lost to time and foul magics, along with their whole kingdom."

Laetitia grimaced. "Ugh. And here I thought I was trying to make you relax!"

"Hey, ancient history is relaxing."

"If you say so."

"This man," another voice asked, making both Laetitia and Sunset turn to look at the entrance to the infirmary, where Annette—another old book under her arm, no doubt for Sunset's further education into French literature—stood looking at them with a haunted look in her eyes. "Sombra. What happened to him?"

"Unicorn," Sunset corrected. "He gathered great power, studied ancient lost dark magics… some of us unicorns can cast similar things but his specific brand…" she shook her head. "He rose an army of enslaved ponies, but my mentor, Celestia, and her sister Luna, fought him until in a clash of magic, the whole Crystal Empire disappeared."

"And Sombra?"

"Destroyed in a flash of Solar Magic, if the stories are true," Sunset said, giving her an odd look. "Why?"

Annette set down the book and sat down on the end of the bed. "After Aria took me back to EXALT, I met three more people she was close with: Her sister Adagio, her sister Sonata… and a man named Sombra, who had brought them together."

Sunset's eyes went wide, her memory flashing to the man that had one of her gems. Her eyes narrowed. He had stolen it. Stolen the magic! "Do you think… he's the Warlock?"

"I do not know," Annette said, "Or at least I can't tell for certain, but one thing is for sure… whoever the Warlock is, it isn't Adagio. And he is the only one from back then who seemed to have that… otherworldly quality that they shared."

"From what I heard… from what I read—" Sunset gulped. "—I hope not. But we'll have to find the Warlock soon."

"Trust me," Laetitia said, somberly looking at the floor, eyes distant and face frowning, as if remembering something unpleasant. "We don't have to worry about that. My people have battled him plenty of times. He's contemplative and takes his time to act. But we learned long ago the one truth about seeking the Warlock."

"And what is that?" Sunset asked.

"He always finds you."

o.0.o End Chapter 111 o.0.o

Next Chapter: Chapter 112: Incoming Estimated time remaining: 13 Hours, 57 Minutes
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