A part of Luna wanted nothing more than to simply deny the horror below her on grounds of shear impossibility. This should not have happened. This could not have happened, based on everything Luna had ever known. Ruthlessly, she suppressed her astonishment and terror. She could decide whether or not it was possible later. Right now, she had a city to protect.
First, she reached out with her magic and plucked the skin of reality in a certain way, sending reverberations across the world. It was something she had not done in nearly two thousand years: A cry for help. Although it had been so long, she knew Celestia would not have forgotten. Then, she turned her attention to the creatures below her.
A few of the larger winged creatures had already spotted her, and were charging towards her with shrieking cries. Luna grinned tightly and flew to meet them. Although her greater powers were barred to her for fear of destroying the city herself, if these abominations thought she was defenseless, they were gravely mistaken. Luna reached out, gathering energy from the world in the skies above Canterlot. It manifested as storm clouds, roiling and black.
For a moment, even the screams of the horrors below quieted, as though they were holding their breath. Then, the world erupted in thunder and brilliant silver light. Massive jagged bolts stabbed down from the clouds, swatting the flying creatures out of the sky like so many insects. These were not party tricks, for scaring ponies on Nightmare Night. This was the wrath of an angry goddess defending her world.
Luna swept down. Below her, she saw a column of guards, at least two hundred strong, charging to meet the invaders. Although she saluted their bravery, she knew none of them could be prepared for what they were about to face. They needed something to even the odds. She flew in a circle, sweeping over the column as they closed with the monsters. As she flew on ahead, she called more lightning down from the clouds, blasting into the wave of advancing horrors. Whatever they were, they were clearly able to feel fear. Their onslaught broke for a critical moment, and the guards plowed into them, their shouts just audible over the fury of the storm.
With the royal guards on the offensive, Luna flew towards the rift, blasting any horrors foolish enough to reveal themselves to her. The creatures were still coming through, although slower than in the initial rush. Luna observed the rift with her higher sense. It was not as bad as she had first feared, more of a shallow cut than a deep wound. The celestial mechanisms were already starting to heal themselves, closing the tear. With study, Luna might have been able to accelerate the process, but that was a luxury she didn't have time for. Reshaping the world to seal the gap away was also impossible without destroying even more of the city, although Luna feared it might already be too late for those closest to the rift. There was nothing for it. They were going to have to hold until the tear closed on its own.
Luna set up a patrol around the rift, sending bolts of lightning at anything coming through, and searching for monsters among the houses and shops closest to it. However, she knew the storm she had summoned wouldn't last forever. She had already used up a large amount of its energy in the initial assault, and she guessed there wasn't more than an hour's worth left, if she used her lightning conservatively. After that, she would be limited to her own magic, which, while powerful, wasn't capable of stopping an entire army single handed. Judging by the rate at which the tear was healing, it would take at least until morning to close entirely.
Fortunately, the royal guards appeared to be doing well against the creatures, from what Luna could tell. Deprived of reinforcements and broken up by Luna's attack, the guards were isolating the creatures and bringing them down one by one. She felt a surge of pride for them, and for Shining Armor. In a way, the Changeling attack had almost been a stroke of luck, forcing the guards to whip themselves into shape and prepare to fight real threats.
After several minutes, the guard seemed to have ordered itself enough for a pegasus to approach Luna and ask what her orders were. “Continue hunting the creatures down,” she told him. “We need to have them contained by the time the storm dissipates. I can keep more from coming through until then, but after that, we'll need to form a defensive perimeter around the rift. Once an area has been secured, evacuate the citizens and get them to the palace.”
“Yes, Princess,” said the guard, sounding extremely relieved that someone was in charge. He flew off, headed for the main body of guards.
It was funny how quickly something could become routine, thought Luna. With her storm overhead, the horrors were impotent against her, and she found time to start thinking again. She still didn't know how Dawnbringer had managed to tear a hole in reality, but it was obvious now why he had done it where he had. If he had started sacrificing ponies in some little village somewhere, it would almost certainly have gone undetected, but it would have been relatively simple to contain it. Luna wasn't sure what role the sacrifices had played, but unlike Midnight Dream, Dawnbringer was clearly methodical and intelligent. She was sure everything he had done had served a purpose.
More worrisome was how she was going to hunt him down. The rift he had opened was bad enough, but even after it closed, Luna had no doubt he would be able to create another. In fact, it would probably be considerable easier the second time, like reopening a wound that hadn't fully healed. Now that she knew what to look for, Luna would immediately know where Dawnbringer was if he tried again, which she hoped he didn't realize. Still, she didn't like having to react to his moves.
Luna absentmindedly tried to call down another lightning bolt on an emerging creature, but instead of a single bolt, there was only a brief crackle of smaller sparks. Cursing, she summoned her own magic, slicing the monstrosity in half with a beam of light. She looked up and saw that the storm clouds were now thick and gray, rather than roiling and black. Releasing the storm from her control, she flew down, looking for Shining Armor.
As she had ordered, the guards had formed a perimeter around the rift, and from what she could see, most of the creatures already in the city had been dealt with. Luna found Shining Armor talking hurriedly to a small group of sergeants, and she glided to a landing beside him. His armor had a long slash along one side, and most of the other ponies bore similar damage, although none were badly wounded.
“Princess! Thank Ce- Ah, I'm glad you're here,” said Shining Armor. “We've done as you ordered. We have squads searching for the last of those creatures, although I'm afraid some of them managed to evade us. This section of the city has been evacuated. Most ponies had the good sense to start running before we even told them to. The guards are forming a perimeter around the... whatever that thing is, now.”
“Good work, Captain,” said Luna. “Where is Twilight Sparkle?” she asked, glancing around.
“I sent her back to the palace,” said Shining Armor. “Mostly for her protection, but she's also in charge of the defenses, in case any of these creatures get through. Princess, what are these things?”
“That would be difficult to explain,” said Luna. “However, there are certain things I can tell you about them. As you've no doubt discovered, they're extremely strong, and otherwise dangerous physically. However, they are also vulnerable to magic, and most of them are not particularly intelligent. They will nearly always attack in a straight forward, brute force manner.”
“That's what I've been learning,” he said. “We can keep these things contained for a while, but not indefinitely. How are you planning on stopping them?”
“The rift that they're entering through will close within half a day, at the longest,” said Luna. “We need to hold here until that happens.”
“I could surround it with a shield,” suggested Shining Armor. “It's not that big.”
“That would not be wise,” said Luna. “Their weakness to magic comes from the fact that they are unfamiliar with this world. The longer they stay here, and the more exposure to magic they have, the more dangerous they'll become. We need to take a more aggressive approach.”
“You can count on us, then. You heard the Princess, men! Go make sure our defenses are ready!” The lower ranking ponies saluted and galloped off.
“I shall return to my patrol,” said Luna. “Your pegasi will likely need help holding back the flying creatures. Tell your men to signal if there's a breach in the line, and I'll do my best to aid them.” With that, she sprang back into the air.
Without her storm, the combat became much more personal. Luna knew she didn't have the energy to annihilate each creature that came through. If she wanted to last the night, she'd have to be clever.
A thing covered in twisted tusks with two pairs of bat wings burst out of the rift and charged towards her, shrieking from at least three mouths. Luna folded her wings and dropped below it. As she passed close to the creature, she fired two quick spears of magic into the thing's wing joints. It shrieked in pain and began a spinning plummet back into the rift, dissolving as it passed back through. However, an instant later, it reappeared, this time in the form of a winged serpent that twisted its way into the air. Luna cursed under her breath; she'd forgotten that little detail. She led the serpent on a brief chase until they were no longer over the rift, and then shot a bolt of magic down its gaping throat as it lunged at her.
“DON'T LET THEM PASS BACK THROUGH THE RIFT AND CHANGE FORM!” she ordered as she flew back over the guards. “STRIKE THEM DOWN IN OUR WORLD!” The shout drew the attention of a thing like a massive dragonfly festooned with stingers and barbs, which had been causing havoc with a group of pegasus guards. It darted towards her with blinding speed, but Luna conjured a shield around herself. The creature impacted her shield with a satisfying crunch and fell towards the ground, stunned. Luna dismissed her shield and flew back towards the rift to confront whatever emerged next.
The first breach came perhaps fifteen minutes later. She had just finished dispatching a dragon-like creature with three heads when she caught a burst of red sparks out of the corner of her eye. Diving towards the place where the signal had originated, Luna saw a massive, lumbering creature with six large limbs and a number of smaller ones taking swipes at the ponies darting around it. There were brief flashes of light as the guards tried to repel it with magic, but it seemed to be ineffective. Either this creature was a good bit smarter than its fellows, or it had been exposed to magic before being knocked back into the abyss and reforming itself.
Luna landed behind the monster, which was even more horrifying up close. She spent a moment gathering her magic, horn glowing brightly, then slammed her hoof into the ground, releasing the energy in a burst. An enormous spike burst out of the ground under the creature, impaling it and lifting it slightly into the air. It let out an earsplitting bellow, and then was still. After a stunned moment, the guards raised a cheer. “Thanks for the help, Princess,” said one, approaching her. “That thing was tearing right through us.”
“If you see another one like that, try using magic to throw your spears with extra force instead of attacking it directly,” advised Luna. “In the mean time, get back to the perimeter and hope you don't see another one like that.”
After that, the breaches started coming with increased frequency. The first few, Luna managed to repel without undo difficulty, but each one sapped her strength. Finally, while facing a skittering horror slightly larger than a mortal pony, Luna misfired a spell, only clipping the creature instead of blasting it to cinders. It scurried backwards, hissed at her, and then darted off into the night as Luna let out a curse she hadn't used for at least a few centuries.
Taking wing, she went in search of Shining Armor. She found him with a group of guards just finishing off a thing that walked on two feet, and had an upper pair of limbs ending in blades. He was considerably more disheveled than the last time she'd seen him, as was she herself. “Have all the civilians been evacuated?”
“As far as I know, yes. Anyone with good sense will be long gone by now, even if we missed them.”
“Then order the men to fall back to the palace. We can't hold them here, and if we stay any longer, we'll start getting hit from both sides.”
“Are you sure, your Highness?” asked Shining Armor. “If these things get out into the country, they could maraud for weeks before we track them down.”
“Most of them should make straight for the largest concentration of ponies, which will be us,” said Luna. “The rest... We'll just have to take our chances. If the guard falls, we won't be able to stop any of them.”
“As you say,” said Shining Armor. He saluted briefly, then ran off to find a pegasus guard to convey Luna's orders. “It's done,” he said a minute later. “I've ordered the guard to withdraw in good order. They'll regroup here, and then we'll make our way back to the palace in good order.”
“Well done, Captain,” said Luna. “I'll do what I can to guard your retreat.” She sprang back into the air, mustering what was left of her magical energy. “Forgive me, Celestia,” she murmured, looking out over the empty city.
* * *
Three hours earlier
Twilight cantered out of the palace at the side of her brother, two hundred and fifty of the guard following them. “You can't think of anything?” Shining Armor was asking. “Anything that might explain what has the Princess so worked up?”
“Nothing,” replied Twilight. “We still don't know what Dawnbringer's after, but I can't think of anything that would have the Princess so, well, panicked.”
“I don't like it,” said Shining Armor. “I can't think of any reason for her to want so many of the guard in one place, especially since she's there herself. She's more than a match for any unicorn by herself. She's probably a match for any five unicorns, for that matter.”
“I don't know,” said Twilight. “We know Dawnbringer has some number of followers, but I can't imagine he'd have so many that-”
Twilight cut off abruptly as the world seemed to shiver. “What in Celestia's name was that?” asked her brother. The guards muttered nervously behind them.
“Nothing good. Come on,” said Twilight, picking up her pace.
Then, from across the roofs of Canterlot, came the most horrifying sound Twilight had ever heard. The only thing it brought to mind was the screams Midnight Dream had made in the dungeon, but this was far, far worse. Involuntarily, Twilight stumbled to a halt, and she wasn't the only one. All along the line, guards faltered and cursed, the column breaking into disarray.
“Look! Up there!” said Shining Armor. Above the buildings, black shapes were rising into the air. “What are they? Dragons?” he asked.
“Those aren't any dragons I've ever seen or read about, and as far as I know, I've seen or read about all of them,” said Twilight.
The hellish noises seemed to be getting closer. “Twilight,” said Shining Armor, turning to her, “I want you to go back to the palace.”
“What!?” snapped Twilight. “I've been through just as much as you, if not more! I have a right to be here!”
“This is different,” said Shining Armor. “Besides, if these... whatever those things are get through, someone's going to need to coordinate the defense of the palace. I hope it won't come to that, but if it does, I want someone I can count on in charge. Now go! I don't have time to argue this.” He turned back to the guards. “Form up! The city needs us!” he shouted.
Twilight cursed. She lingered just long enough to watch as the guards charged off, then gathered her magic and teleported back to the guard barracks. It was almost deserted now, with only a few functionaries and pen-pushers remaining. They stared at her as she appeared in their midst. “Gather every guard in the palace and get them to the walls! The city is under attack!” she shouted. As if to punctuate her words, the very walls of the castle shuddered as a massive roar of thunder rippled through them. The guards scattered.
With that done, Twilight headed for the walls herself. The city had transformed. Pitch black clouds swirled unnaturally above the city, and lightning flickered constantly. In the center of the city, a fissure had opened. Twilight couldn't describe what she saw inside, and when she forced herself to look away, she couldn't even remember what it had looked like. All that remained was a sense of lingering horror.
Twilight peered closer. She could see Shining Armor's column approaching the rift, looking nearly insignificant in comparison. Charging out to meet them was a wave of... things. Although they were revealed only in flashes of lightning, Twilight instinctively knew that no book she ever had or ever would read contained such creatures. They were a mockery of life, and whatever they were, they couldn't be of this world.
The lightning quieted unnaturally. Twilight held her breath, fearing some new horror. Then, with a blinding flash, lightning stabbed down from the cloud in a massive wave, sweeping across the city. For a heart-stopping moment, Twilight thought it had targeted the column of guards. Then, she realized it had been directed at the invading creatures. It blasted the advancing wave to pieces, sending the survivors running for cover. A moment later, the noise crashed into the palace, almost deafening Twilight.
Abruptly, Twilight felt the need to sit down. Luna. I've been sleeping in her room. I cuddled with her! And all that time, I had no idea. How could one pony possibly have so much power? Another thought occurred to her. Celestia must be just as powerful. She shook her head, trying not to consider all the implications. There would be time for that later. Despite her shock at the overwhelming display of power, Twilight felt something like hope rise in her since the insanity had started. Whatever these creatures were, clearly not even they could stand against such immense power.
Half a dozen guards cantered up to join Twilight. “Um, what are your orders, Lady Sparkle?” asked the one in the lead as he tried not to stare out at the city too obviously.
“Some type of unknown creatures have invaded the city,” said Twilight. “My brother and the Princess are fighting them below. We must be prepared to repel any that make it past them and to the palace. How many more guards are left?”
“There should be about twenty total, all unicorns,” said the guard.
Twilight nodded. “Assign four to meet me at the front gate. The rest watch the walls for those flying things,” she said.
“Right,” said the guard. He nodded to his fellows, and they hurried off. Twilight tore her eyes away from the scene below and made her way down from the wall, headed towards the main gate. There were other ways into the palace, but they were small and hard to find. Twilight guessed the creatures would make for the most obvious entrance.
Twilight knew the safest thing to do would be to shut the gate tight and only fight if the creatures made it through. She couldn't bear not knowing what was happening below, though. Telling herself there would be plenty of time to shut the gates before the creatures made it up the long ramp to the city, she opened them and stepped out.
She was immediately glad she had. Coming up the ramp was a stream of panicked ponies. Twilight quickly stepped to the side. A few seconds later, the first of them reached her, screaming and weeping. “Quickly! Inside! Everypony inside!” shouted Twilight, trying to make herself heard over the din. “Don't stop in the entrance hall! Make sure there's room for everypony!”
The stream of terrified ponies continued unabated. After a few minutes, four guards joined her, helping to restore order. Although she was glad they were out of the city, Twilight was beginning to worry they wouldn't have room for them all. Canterlot wasn't the largest city in Equestria, and the royal palace was large, but it simply wasn't designed to shelter thousands.
Suddenly, there was a disruption at the bottom of the ramp, and the sound of screams reached Twilight. With a stab of horror, she realized that one of the creatures had broken through the battle and was tearing through the crowd of unarmed ponies below. She glanced at her guards; too far away. She'd have to make due. “To the bottom of the ramp! Hurry!” she shouted. Then, with a deep breath, she teleported.
The bottom of the ramp was a nightmare. Two ponies already lay dead, and as she materialized, the creature killed a third. Its body was the size of a pony's, but it had four extremely long, slender legs jutting out to the sides, which it used in a skittering motion. Another pair of shorter limbs extended from the front of its body, ending in wicked spikes. Its head swiveled towards Twilight, showing row upon row of razor fangs in a mouth that was far too wide. Tossing aside its most recent victim, it came for her.
Twilight stared transfixed at the approaching abomination, unable to move a muscle. The accumulated horror of the past few days seemed to burst forth from behind her mental walls, paralyzing her. This is it, she thought as time seemed to slow. I'm going to die, right here.
No! I can't die! Luna will be upset! It almost seemed funny, in the corner of her mind that was still working. Don't want to upset Luna. She might hit me with a lightning bolt. Thinking of the blue alicorn, she felt a spark of something. Her paralysis lessened just enough for instinct to kick in. As the creature lunged for her, arms scissoring to impale her from either side, a blast of uncontrolled magical energy burst from Twilight's horn. The creature was knocked backwards, crashing through the wall of a shop, screaming its outrage. It scrambled back to its feet and charged her again, but this time Twilight was ready. Gathering as much of her not-insignificant power as she could, she focused into a beam of energy and sent it straight into the creature's body. There was a flash of light, and where the creature had stood, only a settling pile of ashes remained.
A few seconds later, her four guards galloped up to her, panting. “Lady Sparkle! Are you alright?” asked one.
“Yes,” said Twilight. “I'm alright. I am alright,” she repeated, slightly amazed. She was still afraid, but her fear seemed like a distant thing. It didn't paralyze her.
One of the other guards coughed slightly. “Um, my Lady... If you don't mind my saying, that was the hardest thing I've ever seen. When that thing charged you, I thought you were done for, but you just stood there cool as anything, and then blam!”
Twilight actually found it in herself to laugh slightly. “Come on,” she said. “There are still some ponies around here that scattered when that thing showed up. You two, move these poor ponies somewhere out of the way. The civilians shouldn't have to see that,” she said, gesturing to the dead ponies.
Fortunately, Luna and the guards did their job well, and no more monstrosities attacked the palace. The stream of refugees slowly lessened; Twilight hoped it was because everyone had gotten out safely. The thunderstorm also dissipated, which Twilight found more worrying. She hoped Luna was alright.
The next hour passed tensely. Clearly a raging battle was in progress, but from her vantage point on the palace, Twilight couldn't see who was winning. She told herself the fact that nothing approached the palace was a good sign, and meant that the guards were holding, but the longer she went without news, the more nervous she got.
Finally, one of the guards pointed down at the bottom of the ramp. “I think something's moving down there,” he said. Squinting, Twilight saw it too, and although it was indistinct, it clearly wasn't a pony. As she watched, it started up the ramp, approaching quickly with a scuttling motion.
“Get ready. Wait until it's close, then focus fire on it on my signal,” said Twilight. The thing rapidly grew larger, running much faster than a pony could. “Ready... Now!” shouted Twilight. Five bolts of magic simultaneously hit the creature. They didn't seem as effective as they should have been, splashing across the creature's hide rather than piercing it, but it was overwhelmed by volume anyway. It cartwheeled backwards, then lay still. “Knock it off the ramp, just to be sure,” ordered Twilight. They tried to lift it with telekenisis, but it was somehow slippery, and eluded their magical grasp. “We'll have to do it the old fashioned way, then,” she said. The guards marched forward. None wanted to touch the creature, but they placed the butts of their spears against it and heaved. Slowly, the thing rolled towards the edge, and then over. A second later, there was a satisfying crunch.
A few minutes later, there was another one, this one huge and lumbering rather than small and darting. After that, a flier approached the walls and was shot down by the guards Twilight had posted there, with some difficulty. “This isn't good,” said Twilight. “They're getting overrun.”
She was tempted to go down herself, for all the good it would have down, but the thought of the refugees in the palace stopped her. If the guards were, in fact, overrun, she was the only thing standing between them and the invaders.
Finally, after several more nerve racking minutes, a group of figures appeared at the bottom of the ramp, and this time, they were clearly ponies. “They're back!” said Twilight, relieved. After a moment, though, she realized what it meant. “The rift is still open. They must be falling back to the palace.”
Throwing caution to the winds, Twilight galloped down the ramp to meet them. When she saw Shining Armor leading the column, she almost sagged in relief. Running up to her brother, she threw her front legs around him, murmuring, “You're safe, you're safe, you're safe.”
“Hey, little sis,” said Shining armor tiredly, hugging her back. “How is it here? Did any of those things get through?” he asked.
“Just four. We took care of them,” said Twilight. “What's going on down there?” she asked.
“We're pulling back to the palace,” said Shining Armor. “We can't hold them at the rift any longer.”
“How bad is it?” asked Twilight fearfully.
“Not as bad as it could have been,” said Shining Armor. “Our casualties have been amazingly low. We would have been slaughtered in the first five minutes if it weren't for the Princess.”
“Where is she?” demanded Twilight, suddenly looking around in fear.
“Don't worry, she's fine,” said Shining Armor. “She's covering our retreat with a squad of pegasus. Now come on, we have to get inside before more of them show up. How many refugees made it?”
“A lot,” said Twilight. “Most of the city, I think. I haven't checked on them.”
The question was answered as they passed through the gate. The entrance hall was filled with ponies in various states of terror. They seemed to rally slightly as the guards appeared, and a few of them raised a ragged cheer.
“We need to clear out the entrance hall,” ordered Shining Armor. “The guards need room to maneuver. Everypony move back, if you can.”
“The palace is full up,” said one pony near the front. “There's no room to move back.”
Shining Armor gestured to one of the guards. “Open the barracks and let them in,” he ordered. “That should make enough room.”
“Yes sir. Make way! Coming through!” he shouted, moving off.
“The rest of you get to the walls,” said Shining Armor. “Lay the wounded down here. Someone go find a doctor. If you've exhausted your magic, stay here and rest. You'll defend the palace if they break through the gate. Come on! Move it!”
In short order, the entire column was through. “Close the gates and barricade them!” shouted Shining Armor. “Come on. We'd better get up to the wall,” he said to Twilight.
They reached the top of the wall just as a dark blue alicorn landed on it, along with a retinue of pegasus guards. Twilight ran up and hugged the princess, and couldn't help but nuzzle her a little, which Luna returned.
“I'm glad to see you're safe,” said Luna.
“Me too,” said Twilight. “How bad is it, really?” she asked softly.
“Not good,” said Luna. “There are at least a few more hours before the rift closes. They're not coming through as fast as they were in the beginning, but they're still coming. If they come at us one at a time, we should make it. If they group up, though, I'm not sure we can hold them.” She gestured for Shining Armor to join them. “If the defenses collapse, I'll need you to raise a shield around the palace. It won't hold for long, but it might give us enough time to regroup. We can't let them through, not with most of the population of Canterlot inside.”
“Here they come!” came a shout from further down the wall. Twilight looked down and saw a few scattered creatures slowly congregating at the bottom of the ramp. They began to make their way up it in a scattered line. In the sky, a pair of fliers winged their way towards the wall.
“Take down the ones in the air first!” ordered Luna. “Focus your fire on the ones on the ground, and knock them off one at a time!”
As the first flying creature approached, a giant insectoid, it was hit by at least a dozen bolts of magic. Screaming, it plunged out of the sky. The second one was cleverer, and zig-zagged towards the palace, dodging most of the incoming energy. It swooped towards the wall with a triumphant cry. “Shields!” shouted Shining Armor. Several magical bubbles popped up, and the creature slammed into them with a furious scream, rebounding backwards. It was quickly blasted out of the air in turn.
“Here come the ones on the ground,” said Luna. “Remember, one at a time!” she shouted.
The first two didn't appear to be resistant to magic, and they went down quickly, forming a large obstacle on the ramp. The third creature was resistant to magic, but as it tried to scramble over its fallen brethren, the guards knocked the massive corpse off the ramp, with the smaller creature on top of it. The next creature was also taken down without trouble, and the remaining creatures seemed to think better of their strategy. They turned and fled into the night.
The guards raised a cheer, but Luna remained silent. “They'll be back,” she said, “and the ones that got away will teach the new ones. The next attack will be worse.”
For the next hour or so, there were only sporadic attacks, easily turned back. “This isn't good,” said Luna quietly. “They were coming through at a rate of at least one a minute. They're either gathering for an attack, or most of them are running off into the country, which could be just as bad in the long term.”
“If it's an attack, we'll probably find out soon,” said Shining Armor.
As if to punctuate his words, a mass of shrieking came from the city. More than a dozen flying creatures rose into the air, and Twilight could just make out a shifting wave of earth-bound creatures below them. They advanced towards the palace.
“We'll hit as many as we can before they reach the wall. As soon as the fliers get to us, put up your shield,” Luna ordered Shining Armor. “If we can take down the fliers before the other ones reach us, we have a chance.”
The flying creatures seemed to be hesitating while the ones on the ground advanced. Twilight moved closer to Luna, huddling up against the larger pony, and she felt Luna wrap a wing around her. “Luna,” she said quietly, looking up at the alicorn. “If we don't get through this... I want you to know-”
With another scream, the flying creatures hurled themselves towards the palace as the ones below charged up the ramp. Regretfully, Twilight and Luna pulled apart from each other. “READY!” ordered Luna. “HOLD... FIRE!”
Dozens of magical bolts streaked away from the palace. Several of the fliers were hit and fell, shrieking, but more came on. They closed the distance from the city to the palace in seconds, bearing down on the guards. “Now, Shining Armor!” shouted Luna.
Twilight's brother focused his magic, then sent a steady beam towards the approaching monsters. It sped away from the palace, then flattened and curved, interposing a huge barrier in front of the invaders. They shrieked in outrage, and a few crashed against it, falling back stunned. The barrier kept spreading, forming a sphere that surrounded the entire palace. Shining Armor fell to his knees, panting. Even as the shield completed itself, though, the creatures were throwing themselves against it. Cracks rapidly appeared. “Be ready!” shouted Luna. “We'll only get one more shot at this!”
Within less than a minute, the shield shattered. The creatures stumbled through, disoriented for a moment. The guards seized the opportunity to blast another four out of the air, but the remaining creatures seemed to be resistant to magic. They darted towards the wall, shrieking triumphantly. One came straight at Twilight. She stumbled backwards, raising a shield in front of herself, but the creature smashed into it, and it shattered. It landed on the wall in front of her, unleashing a deafening roar. A pair of guards assaulted it with their spears, but they were sent flying by swipes from the thing's massive claws. It crouched, preparing to spring, and Twilight felt the wall at her back.
Then, with no warning, and against all logic, the sun rose. The castle was bathed in light, and the creatures screamed in protest. Rising unnaturally fast, the sun took up a position high in the sky, and creatures, who had never seen it before, cowered down, hiding their eyes. That was why they didn't see the dragons.
They soared down, at least two dozen strong, in all colors and sizes, and at their head flew a radiant white alicorn. In the sudden light, Twilight could see the writhing mass of creatures below, at least a hundred of them. Flying in formation, the dragons swooped down with an earth shaking roar. The creatures might have learned to resist unicorn magic, but dragonfire, they most certainly had not. Even all the way up on the castle walls, Twilight felt the heat on her face. In mere seconds, the churning horde below had been reduced to a blazing inferno.
A spear made of solid, blazing light impaled the creature that had threatened Twilight, pinning it to the wall. A moment later, the sun princess herself landed next to it. Even over the sound of the fires raging below, Twilight could hear the sound of the guards cheering wildly. They swarmed over the remaining creatures on the wall, quickly dispatching them with their spears.
“You never could resist playing the hero, could you?” asked Luna as she walked up to her sister. They regarded each other for a moment, and then ran into a tight embrace.
“I came as soon as I could,” said Celestia. “I'm sorry I wasn't sooner.”
“How did you get them to come along?” asked Luna, gesturing to the dragons, who were now mopping up any horror that they had missed in their initial pass.
“A few very old friends, and a few hotheaded youngsters looking for a fight,” she said. “How bad is it here?”
“Not nearly as bad as it could have been,” said Luna. “Most of the ponies from the city are safe in the palace. I haven't had a chance to count our casualties yet, but I don't think we lost more than fifty.”
“Incredible,” breathed Celestia. “I knew I made the right decision leaving you in charge,” she said.
“The right decision?” asked Luna bitterly. “This should never have even happened. Every pony who died today, died because I didn't see the danger.”
“Don't be a fool,” said Celestia. “No one could have forseen it. I would have done exactly the same as you. Have you determined how this was done yet?”
“No,” said Luna, “But the one called Dawnbringer is even more dangerous than I'd thought. He has the ability of possession. Aside from whatever ability he used to open the breach, of course.”
“That is ill news indeed. I believe I may know the true identity of this Dawnbringer, although I have no idea how he gained so much power so quickly.” Suddenly, Celestia seemed to notice Twilight for the first time. “Twilight! Forgive me for not seeing you. Are you harmed?”
“I'm fine, princess,” said Twilight. “Just a little tired.”
“Of course you are,” said Celestia, frowning. “How long have you been fighting these things? You must be completely exhausted. Both of you,” she said, turning to her sister.
“Don't worry about me,” protested Luna. “I can stay for as long as I'm needed.”
“I think I can handle things for now,” said Celestia wryly. “Go! Get some sleep. I'll need both of you at full strength later. It won't do anyone any good if you run yourselves into the ground. Go on, shoo.”
“Fine,” muttered Luna. “Wake me the instant anything happens, though,” she said, turning away. Twilight followed in her wake.
As though Celestia's words had opened the drain on her reserve of energy, Twilight suddenly felt every single minute of the battle. She stumbled, nearly falling. Quickly, Luna was beside her, supporting her. “Come on,” she said. “It's not far to my room.”
It seemed far, no matter what Luna had said. When they finally arrived, Luna staggered over to her bed, barely keeping herself on her feet, no matter her earlier protests. Twilight followed, and they both collapsed in a pile. Luna halfheartedly tugged a blanket over them. A part of Twilight's brain began to inform her that she was sleeping next to the princess, and was that really something she should be doing? But before the thought could be completed, Twilight was asleep.