//------------------------------// // Chapter 23 // Story: The Royal Apples: Into the Land of Neverwere // by Radical Gopher //------------------------------// Hot air filled her lungs as Celestia struggled to put some distance between herself and Tirek, but she was so weakened that all she could do was crawl. The flames of Tartarus were intended to drain any who were imprisoned here, but in the case of Tirek it served to fuel his hunger for magic. He had already drained her of all her alicorn magic, as well as the magic belonging to the others, but as when she had first confronted him, it wasn’t enough. It would never be enough. Her world now was one of pain. Pain from fire and the pain of loss, enhanced by the mad laughter of the devourer. “How deliciously ironic, princess. After trapping me in this prison for an eternity, you and your friends have provided me with the magic I need to finally free myself.” The horned centaur had already grown to twice Celestia’s size. “I am touched by your generosity, but there is so much more your ponies can give me.” He waved his hand in a sweeping gesture. A ribbon of basalt materialized before him, bridging the gap between the outcropping on which his cage stood and the pathway to the gate. “If you are going to kill me, then do so and be done with it.” Celestia challenged weakly. The centaur only laughed. “Oh no! I’m not so foolish as to play your game. If I kill you, your magic will fade, leaving me as powerless as before, but then, you knew that.” Grabbing the princess by the back of her mane he dragged her over to his cage and tossed her inside with the other ponies. “You will live... as will your pony friends. You will know despair, and horror. You will know all that I suffered, and you will know it forever. No one, no pony, dies in Tartarus, and as I drain your kingdom one pony at time I will send each here until the land is empty, cleared of your people. All their magic will live through me.” Tirek reached for the cage door, intending to slam it closed, but as he did the world itself began to tremble. A rainbow hued wave of sorcery more powerful than anything he had felt before washed across the centaur. It stripped him of his magic and returning it to his victims. Before he could react Babs, Trixie and Rainbow Dash hurled themselves on the demon, pinning him to the ground. The others, alongside a fully restored Celestia, quickly vacated the cage. Screaming in frustration, Tirek was tossed once more into the cage and the door was locked shut. “You have not heard the last of me!” he yelled weakly. “I will escape, and when I do, your world will end!” “Follow me,” called the princess as she led everypony across the bridge the horned centaur had created. Reaching the other side, Celestia collapsed it behind them, isolating Tirek once more in Tartarus. They trotted calmly towards the gateway, past Cerberus its guardian, whom the alicorn calmed with a simple wave of her horn and a nod. Another wave of her horn, and the gates opened before them. They found themselves standing in the small paddock in front of an ancient castle. More than a hundred creatures from ponies, to griffins, to hippogryphs and small dragons were standing in a circle, staring solemnly down at the red-furred alicorn who lay before them. “Is he still alive?” a young pegasus whispered to an earth pony next to her. Celestia quietly came up behind them, examining Big Mac with a simple spell. “Fear not, my little pony. Our protector lives, though undoubtedly he has exhausted his magic with his effort.” Every pony turned upon hearing the proclamation and gasped at the sight of the Sun Princess. A murmur swept through the crowd. “Celestia! Look, look! Celestia has returned to us! The princess has returned! We are SAVED! EQUESTRIA IS SAVED!” As they turned and beheld her the entire assembly went down on one knee and bowed. The princess smiled and nodded to all before her. “Please, all of you... Rise and embrace the day, the world that now shines before you is one of hope and promise.” As she spoke her wings spread wide and the sun above grew brighter than many could remember, clearing away the dim half-light of the world. A group of ponies trotted over to Celestia. Their leader bowed and pointed to a nearby tree. “Your highness... we have the usurper trapped in the upper branches of that tree. What do you want us to do with her? She won’t come down and I think she is too weak to fly away, let alone fight.” “Allow me to speak with her,” the princess said quietly. She strode majestically over to the tree and looked up, seeing the figure of a very young, very frightened Princess Luna clinging to the upper branches. There was no trace of Nightmare Moon to be seen. “Please.... go away. Leave me alone.” “No Luna,” the sun princess replied. “No, I won’t. We’ve both been alone for far too long.” “But I’ve hurt others.... I’ve hurt....you. I betrayed the trust placed in me and punished others for my own failings. I failed you.... I failed you all.” “As I have failed you. I did nothing to help you when others ignored you and your gifts. I did not heed your tears as you slowly sank into misery and despair. Nor did I comfort you as you needed, driving you to cast that foolish spell that freed the Nightmare and forced you straight into the trap she set. When she seized your mind I sought not to save you but to defeat her, foolishly misusing the Elements and corrupting their purpose.” Tears began trickling from her eyes. “I lost you, and it was all my fault. I have been so lonely without you beside me; but that’s all over now. The nightmare is ended and we have been freed of her evil influence.” Celestia sat on her haunches hand held out her forelegs. “Please.... please Luna... won’t you come down? Won’t you return to me.... my sister?” There was a moment of silence, then a long, ragged sob as Luna half flew, half fell into Celestia’s hug. Tears flowed freely, “I’m so sorry,” wept the princess of the moon. “I’m sorry.... I’m sorry.” Celestia wrapped her wings around her sister. “Shush. Just hold me.... I’ve been alone for so long. Just hold me.” The two princess cried in each other’s embrace for several minutes before standing and facing the crowd. “Rejoice, one and all! Nightmare Moon has been banished and my sister Luna freed from the demon’s influence! Spread the word to all Equestria. The ancient Diarchy is restored. A new age of peace and prosperity begins.” The sun princess gazed across the world, seeing with sight beyond sight. Ponies could feel the returning warmth of the sun as it spread throughout the land. Here and there she listened to the sound of bells as they began to ring, first in confusion, then in growing confidence that the sun’s return was their salvation. Smiling, Celestia and Luna both made their way over to Big Macintosh. Both the base of his horn and the fur on his chest were singed black. Sweat dampened his body and his breath, though regular, came in explosive bursts that could be nothing else but exhaustion. The Elements of Harmony lay in a circle around him, almost as if placed there as a tribute. The sun princess looked at several nearby ponies. “Fashion a stretcher for him,” she commanded. They quickly trotted off to see to her wishes. Luna gazed down upon the stallion. She could see the strength within him that his physical form only hinted at. “He sleeps, she whispered... I can almost feel his dream.” “I do not think he will awaken anytime soon, let alone be able to get about under his own power. Not for several days at best,” Celestia observed. “He need shelter. Where shall we take him?” Luna asked. The sun princess nodded towards the ancient palace. “Here, I think. There is more than enough room to shelter all present. The walls and most of the roof are still strong, and we need someplace from which to plan how we shall reunite Equestria,” she said, looking across at the large number of ponies and others standing nearby. “And it seems we have subjects who need to be guided and organized.” “Indeed,” replied Luna. ********** The first thing Big Mac became aware of was the sound of birds singing and chirping from somewhere nearby. Slowly, this was joined by a warm, soft, pleasant breeze touched with the scent of lilac. Voices began to echo in the distance. Some laughing and some singing the way a pony would while doing work they loved. Plates rattled from somewhere down a long hallway and foals ran along stone floors, clip-clopping nosily until brought up short by a hushed voice warning them not to wake the prince. “Prince?” the stallion muttered to himself in confusion. He cracked one eye open and looked around. He discovered he was in a room, lying in a very comfortable bed between freshly washed sheets; his head resting on a stack of cool pillows. His eye tracked over to the window through which he could see the bright blue sky beyond. Judging from the light, it had to be almost mid-morning.... morning??? MORNING!!!?? Instincts honed by years of living on a farm suddenly kicked in. If he didn’t get out to the fields now, Applejack would work herself to exhaustion, the way she had trying to bring in an entire apple crop single hoofed! He exploded from the bed, rolling so all four of his hooves hit the floor together. That was as far as he got. A wave of dizziness suddenly overcame Big Mac and instead of striding towards the door he found himself staggering, then rolling onto his left side, the hard, cool stones of the floor slapping him solidly in the barrel. THUD! “OOPHFFF!” The noise attracted the attention of somepony standing just outside the door to the room. It was flung open and a call for aid followed, echoing down the passageway. Head still spinning, the alicorn prince found himself surrounded by several burley ponies who helped lift him to his hooves. “No, no!” a voice suddenly cut in. “Put him back in bed. He needs to rest.” Moments later Big Mac found himself lying once more between crisp, fresh sheets. A clawed hand held a glass of water up to the stallion’s mouth, allowing him to sip lightly until his dry throat loosened up enough to take a few larger, and more satisfying gulps. “That’s better,” the voice observed. “How are you feeling?” Macintosh looked up and found himself gazing into the face of a lavender colored draconequus. “A might dizzy, though that’s fadin’ fast. Ah do feel a might tired and maybe even a tad hungry.” “Hunger’s good,” Twilight replied, gesturing to a nearby pony who immediately trotted out the door. “Though you’re going to be feeling tired for at least a couple days. No pony uses as much magic as you did without there being a backlash.” “Ah thought ah was using the magic o’ the elements?” “You were... but you had to use your own magic to control and guide them.” Big Mac frowned. “Didn’t feel like ah had much control... They was doing what they wanted. Ah was just along fer the ride.” Twilight nodded. “You’re right. Perhaps control isn’t the right word. You did however give the Elements a purpose and a focus for their magic. That’s what overstrained your own powers.” “Kinda feels like ah took a healthy swig from the wrong bottle.” The pony who had trotted away now approached with a small tray on which sat some crackers, cheese and a bowl of hot carrot and spinach noodle soup. The stallion tried to sit up in bed, but the draconequus gently pushed him back down, then levitated a spoonful of the broth to his mouth. “Sorry... Doctor’s orders,” Twilight directed. “You’re to stay in bed and rest for at least a day or two, and above all... NO MAGIC!” Mac felt slightly embarrassed to have somepony spoon feed him. “Ain’t ah allowed ta even feed mah-self?” he asked plaintively. Twilight smiled, gently getting him to down the first bit of soup before handing him the spoon. “You’re welcome to try.” The alicorn returned her smile and gripped the utensil in his hoof. The smile quickly turned to a frown as he discovered he couldn’t stop his foreleg from trembling. Feeding himself was obviously out of the question. “It’s part of the backlash effect of over-stressing your magic. Your horn is tied in with your entire nervous system. You won’t be able to hold anything until a more natural flow of magic is restored throughout your body.” She levitated the spoon away from him and once more dipped it into the soup, holding it out for him. He took a good, long, loud, rebellious slurp on the broth, then smacked his lips, causing Twilight to chuckle. “Better?” she asked. “Eeeyup, though it could use a dash o’ pepper.” As he ate, the draconequus filled him in on what had happened since defeating Nightmare Moon. Mac found out that the elements, along with Twilight and Applejack had been taking turns sitting with him. The princesses had set up shop in their old castle, at least for now, and were in communication with many of the cities in and around Equestria. Repairs to the castle were proceeding slowly, with most of the work focused on providing shelter for the victims of Chrysalis’ trophy cabinet. Spike had gone to check on Zecora. If the effects of the Elements were anything to judge, then almost everypony who’d suffered under the magical curses of Eris, Discord, Nightmare Moon and others were all cured, all save Twilight since her new form was the result of her own magic and not a curse. Pinky was working in the kitchen, preparing food and making sure everypony was not only fed, but had a smile on their face. Rainbow Dash was busy delivering messages and instructions for the princesses as they worked to reestablish their authority over Equestria. Babs, being the only experience police pony present had formed an impromptu “Royal” guard to help keep order. Rarity and Fluttershy were working to spruce up the castle in anticipation of its possible role as Royal Capital. Trixie was galloping all over, helping whenever and wherever needed. No longer bound by the heavy leg braces, she had become a literal ball of energy. “She even offered to pass the Element of Magic on to me,” Twilight said. But the Element decided otherwise and remains bound to her.” “The Element decided... Now thar’s a nice bit o’confustication fer ya,” Big Mac said, slurping up the last of the soup. “How do ya suppose the Elements was able ta work fer me even when bound ta their new hosts?” The draconequus shrugged. “I don’t know. I talked about it with the princesses and they both think it had something to do with the Elements being separated from their hosts when we were all sent to Tartarus.” “Sounds as good as any explanation. Personally, ah think maybe ma own Element made some sort o’ connection with the others. Ah thought ah could feel them working through it.” “Maybe,” Twilight replied. “But how could an Element from another world connect with the Elements of this one?” Big Mac looked at her with a quizzical expression, both eyebrows raised. She picked up on his thoughts instantly. “OH! Yeah, I sort of got to know all about you, or at least everything you told the girls. We’ve been bonding while you were asleep.” The stallion chuckled. “The more things change... the more they stay the same.” “Such is the way of all things,” replied a new voice. Twilight and Big Mac looked up as the door swung open to reveal both Princesses Celestia and Luna. The draconequus immediately bowed to the diarchs who both smiled in return. “We were informed thou had awakened,” Luna added, “and were much curious as to how thou were feeling.” As Big Mac gazed upon the Moon Princess a heavy feeling of loneliness pulled at his heart, combined with more than a little guilt. He’d been so focused on trying to set things right in this world, he had ignored the thoughts and fears he had for his own love, his own world. “Ah’m doing a might better than ah was a few days ago. Twilight tells me ah should be able ta get up and about with a couple days more rest.” Celestia immediately picked up on Big Mac tone. “You sound unhappy,” she observed. “Not something that I would have expected from a hero who saved our world.” “Just a bit homesick is all, and it t’wern’t just me... Ah had a lotta help from ma new friends here.” “Of that, we are well aware,” Luna replied. “They are as much in our hearts as thou, and will be praised and rewarded as befits their station.” “What she said,” Celestia finished. The two sisters looked at each other and laughed, filling the room with a glow of optimism and hope that could not be denied. Big Mac smiled seeing this. The sun princess looked at the alicorn prince. “But what of you? Is there any favor we might grant you for your courageous deeds?” “Well... Ah’d be appreciative if’n you and the Elements would come with me ta visit the Tree o’ Harmony. Once Ah’m back on ma hooves.” Celestia’s eyebrows rose ever so slightly. “Oh? For what purpose.” “Aural would like to have a word with you.” TO BE CONCLUDED.....