Tragedy at the Goldston Convention Center (WARNING in blog post)

//This blog contains content some users may find disturbing. Please only read this post if you are comfortable with violence and the mention/use of undead. "I can hardly believe it Arcana! We've been chosen to represent the college in one of the country's biggest career conventions! This is so exciting!" Two unicorns enter the Goldston Convention Center through a back entrance with saddlebags filled to the brim with materials. These unicorns are professors of the Canterlot College of Magic. They're here to scout potential students, and raise interest in magic among Equestrians as a whole. Well, only one of them would be showcasing spells. Arcana and Johnathan Mithrum approach the booth laid out for their college. They were one of 40 different colleges that were invited to attend the event. To their left was the Ponyville College of the Arts. Their booth was already set up with paintings, pottery, sculptures, and all sorts of forms of art. To their right was the Manehatten Technical Institute with all sorts of fancy gadgets, and tech demos. It was going to be tough to out-do them, but Arcana and Johnathan know they just have to cast the right spells. Johnathan quickly unpacks everything in his saddlebags and begins to arrange it on their booth as neatly as possible. Arcana on the other hand opens her saddlebags to reveal that they are empty. "Hey! You weren't carrying anything you slacker!" Johnathan chuckles with a wide grin on his face. Of course she wasn't carrying anything. She didn't need to. "Correct." A light purple glow surround's Arcana's horn, and a neat stack of fliers appears on the table. Her horn glows again, and a series of magical trinkets appear on the table. This process continues until there's hardly any empty space on the table. Only then do Arcana and Johnathan go behind the table to wait for the attendees to walk in. While they wait the two wizards elect to get acquainted with the members of the booths beside them. After introducing themselves Arcana and Johnathan enter a lively conversation with the ponies running the Ponyville College of the Arts booth. They had as much of a passion for art as Arcana and Johnathan did for magic. Granted half of the conversation was Johnathan oohing and aahing at the art college's display while showing off the trinkets they had brought. The fraternization stopped when the attendees began pouring into the convention center. Thousands of ponies looking for the path they wanted to take in life. College students looking for careers, or transfer opportunities. High School/Middle School students looking into colleges they might be interested in, and graduates looking to get noticed, and hired. Once the attendees started pouring in there was no time to be idle. Arcana and Johnathan quickly got to work informing the attendees about the Canterlot College of Magic, it's campus, courses, and the many scholarship opportunities the college offered. Not only that, but they also demonstrated various spells for the attendees to show them the kinds of things they could learn to do if they attended. Arcana even gave out sweets to the poor fillies and colts who had gotten dragged along by their parents. For 3 hours Arcana and Johnathan worked tirelessly to provide information to the attendees. So far they'd gone through 2 stacks of fliers, and were starting to have trouble finding time to conjure more. Things were going swimmingly so far. Sure Johnathan and Arcana were busy, but this is exactly what they wanted. When the two finally got a minute to rest they quickly reset their booth, and conjured up a few more fliers, and cheap pens to give out. "Phew. I'm glad they let me come along to help you Arcana. I'd hate for you to have to do all of this by yourself." Johnathan flashes his wife a bright smile, which is returned by a much smaller smile. "I couldn't think of anyone I'd rather have helping me." As much as she wanted to give her husband a kiss on the cheek she needed to maintain an air of professionalism. They were here to draw in new students after all. When the attendees returned the two were right back to informing, and displaying. "Why yes! Our campus does have a food court! And yes, we can make you whatever food you want." Johnathan chuckles as he speaks to a young mare who looks like she's just gotten out of bed. He then turns to an older stallion. "Yes sir. We accept students of all age-" a distant rumble causes Johnathan to stop in the middle of his sentence. Something is wrong. Something is VERY wrong. The sound of the convention center's fire alarm confirm his suspicions that something was wrong. "Attention. Attention. An emergency has been reported inside the building. All occupants are to make their way to the nearest available exit. Follow the instructions of center staff, and remain calm." Followed by the harsh beeps of the alarm. Johnathan doesn't wait for the others. He quickly grabs his wife's hoof. "Come on. We need to go." There's no resistance as Arcana allows Johnathan to lead her out of the booth. The room slowly fills with nervous chatter as the mass of creatures attending the event begin to shuffle towards the exits. "What do you think happened? You heard that rumble right?" Johnathan questions his wife as if she knew what had happened. "I'm not sure, but it sounded serious. I suspect there may be a few-" Arcana is cut off by a much closer explosion. The room erupts into panicked screaming with creatures frantically running in every direction. Another explosion rocks the room. Arcana sees the remains of a booth fly into the air. Whatever is is that's causing this it's getting closer. As the world around them descends into chaos the two wizards manage to keep their cool, and head for the nearest exit. It's still quite a ways away, but if they're quick enough they can make it there in less than 5 minutes. Arcana feels herself jerked behind a booth. Johnathan lifts up a hoof to cover his mouth. Over the screams and cries she hears a thunderous voice. "Weaklings! ALL OF YOU!" Followed by the sound of a spell being cast. The two wait for the voice to pass before leaving their cover. They get about 200 feet before hiding once more. This time Johnathan speaks. "Arcana my sweet. You need to go without me. If I can keep him distracted for long enough many lives will be saved." Arcana knows exactly what Johnathan is going to do. Even with the danger he's putting himself in Arcana knows there's no point in trying to stop, or help him. He's dead set on causing a distraction, and she wouldn't be of any help. "Be careful my love. You know what will happen if you survive." Johnathan gives a solemn nod. "If I'm locked away for saving lives then so be it. If this doesn't open the eyes of many I don't know what will." The two embrace, and share one last kiss before Arcana turns to leave. "I'll always be with you love. So long as you wear our wedding band, I'll always be with you." "Monarchs forgive me for what I'm about to do." Johnathan utters a quiet prayer as he re-enters the main convention room. For 10 minutes Johnathan gathers the fallen, and brings them to a central location. He's able to gather about 10. Johnathan then begins to draw a glyph around them as he sprinkles an herbal powder, and recites an incantation. (edge warning: Translate at your own risk.)"Surge di mortuis. Animaduertere in eos, ille qui est secare vita brevis. Habe odium et iram in cetum qui fecit haec dolorem et laborem. Et interfice eum, et amici tui familia, ut vivant." The attacker had expected more resistance when he attacked such a large event, but the only resistance he face was a handful of lightly armed security guards. They didn't stand a chance against him. They could shout "STOP! PUT YOUR HOOVES UP!" and wave their handguns around all they wanted. It didn't help. He'd turned them to ash before they even thought to pull the trigger. His attention quickly shifts as a pony shuffles out into the open. A grave mistake. His horn begins to glow, and a moment later a ball of acid is sent hurling towards the pony. The pony doesn't even bother to attempt to evade the ball, and takes the full brunt of it. Instead of a shrill scream like he was expecting the mare simply groans in pain, and continues forwards. He knows something is off. The mare's skin was pale, her gaze empty, and the wounds in her side bled little. She's undead. He's sure of it. He prepares to cast a firebolt only to stop as two more ponies enter his vision behind the first mare. Then, three more. He quickly shifts to cast a fireball. The ground between the first and second ponies erupts into a ball of fire searing everything within. The first pony falls, but the rest continue. There's more now. He can't waste his time on these creatures. He needs to find whoever it is that raised them. Johnathan Mithrum wipes the sweat from his brow after successfully casting "animate dead" for a second time. There should be about 15 undead under his control now, and they should all be attacking whoever it is that's attacking the convention center. Now he needs to gather more. As Johnathan stands to head back into the main room a shadow appears in the doorway to the room he's been casting in. A large unicorn steps into the room with a spell at the ready. "You don't have to die." The unicorn bellows. "Join me. I could use someone with your set of skills." Johnathan takes no time to consider the offer. He quickly casts "chill touch" causing a ghastly hand to grip the stallion's front left leg. He grunts before letting loose a spell. Johnathan sees a bright flash of light, along with his entire body seeming to burn away. Then, it's quiet. Arcana exits the Convention Center where a blockade has been set up by the local police department, and guard regiment. All she can think is "why?" Why were they waiting outside? Why weren't they going inside to stop this madman? They weren't capable of stopping him. That's why. Now she understood. These guards and police officers didn't have the equipment, or personnel to deal with someone as magically powerful as the man inside the convention center. The best they could do was block off the area, and get the survivors to safety. 462. 462 ponies lost their lives that day. All because no one was able to stop a crazed unicorn from doing as he pleased. Equestria couldn't wait on the alicorns to save them anymore. The citizens needed someone who could protect them from magic threats. They needed wizards. Arcana vowed that she would do whatever she had to make that a reality. Luckily she knew a few people who could help with that.