The Exalted Alicorns of Equestria

by Unselfish Knave

Chapter 4: Legends

Applejack glanced up at the Canterlot train station clock, then back to the rest of their friends. Pinkie was bouncing around, as usual, and Rarity and Fluttershy were sitting on their suitcases in silence. Rainbow Dash was flitting about nervously. Ponies of all sorts were gathered waiting. Some seemed awestruck at the team of heroes waiting beside them. Others seemed too tired to care.

“I’m not the only pony who thinks this is weird, right?” said Dash.

“Not at all, dear,” said Rarity. “There’s something here that’s… well…”

“It don’t make a lick of sense,” said Applejack. “Why would Celestia call us all to the palace, get you three express tickets from Ponyville, then send us all back within the hour without so much as an explanation?”

“Maybe Celestia solved the problem on her own,” offered Fluttershy. She fiddled with her mane. “I mean, she’s a princess and all. She must deal with problems all the time.”

“Then why didn’t she just say so?” shot back Applejack. Fluttershy jumped at Applejack’s volume.

“And where is Twilight?” said Rainbow Dash. “My letter said she was in trouble. If the problem’s been solved, why didn’t we get to see her?”

“I agree, dears,” said Rarity. She glanced around and lowered her voice. “But what can we do about it? We have no place to even start looking. And besides, Celestia obviously doesn’t want us involved at this point.”

Rainbow Dash scoffed. “I don’t care if every god in heaven doesn’t want us involved. If Twilight’s still in trouble, I want to know about it, and I’m going to do something about it.”

“She’ll be fine,” said Pinkie Pie, still bouncing in circles. “It’s Twilight, remember? What could happen. Let’s just get back to Ponyville. Gummy’s probably lonely.”

“We’ve only been gone a few hours, Pinkie. I’m sure Gummy is fine,” grumbled Applejack. “I just want to know what Celestia’s keeping from us.”

Fluttershy seemed to shrink into her seat. “Do you really think Celestia’s wouldn’t tell us if something was wrong?”

“She’s obviously doing it now,” said Applejack. “She wanted us all here before, and now she doesn’t. That means something changed on her end, and nopony told us.”

“That still leaves the problem of us not knowing where to start,” said Rarity. “It’s not like clues are just going to fall out of the sky.”

Pinkie’s tail began to twitch. She grabbed Rarity by the hoof. “You don’t want to be sitting there, Rarity.” She tugged and she and Rarity tumbled forward just as something fell out of the sky right onto the suitcase Rarity had just been sitting on. The luggage burst in an explosion of hats and scarves. When the dust cleared, a small purple dragon tail was visible from under a pile of fabric.

“Spike, is that you?” said Applejack. She gripped the tail in her teeth and gave a tug. Sure enough, it was attached to Spike.

The little dragon rubbed his head. “That hurt much less than I expected,” he said.

“Oh, Spikey, you’re bleeding!” cried Rarity. “Come here, let me fix that for you.” She picked up a scarf in her magic and approached.

Spike looked at the claw that he had been rubbing his head with. His head didn’t hurt, but there was a smear of blood on his hand. “It’s just a scratch. I’m fine; I need to tell you-”

“Sush, shush, Spikey,” said Rarity, already beginning to wrap the scarf around his forehead. “We can’t have one scale on your cute head damaged, can we?”

“Oh, no,” said Fluttershy, hovering above and covering her mouth with her hooves. “Did you get that from falling?”

Spike felt a tug from behind. “What the hay are these?” said Rainbow Dash, stretching out his wings. “Is this what new dragon wings look like?”

“No, I mean, I don’t know, I mean, stop!” the little dragon cried. “Twilight’s in trouble!”

All of the motion around Spike stopped. The ponies all stared at him.

“Do you know something?” said Dash.

“Yeah, I mean, well, sort of,” said Spike. He had to stop and take a few deep breaths to calm himself. “She’s in Everfree Forest, in some kind of ancient palace. Probably where you girls found the Elements.”

The train whistle blew, causing all of the assembled ponies and dragon to jump. “All aboard!” cried the conductor.

Applejack nodded. “Right. The train’s the fastest way back to Ponyville. You can explain on the way.”

* * *

Twilight could hear Celestia approaching before she saw her. The ancient alicorn’s hoofsteps echoed throughout the ruined palace, and the sound of the mas of demons could not drown them out.

She could sense the tension in the room. Every demon stared at the one door into the chamber. They knew what was coming. They fidgeted nervously. Twilight felt that many of them would have fled if not for Starswirl’s binding.

All of them save Hadrian recoiled when the Princess of the Sun entered. Her massive, ornate orichalcum halberd was held before her in her magic. Twilight had read that its name was Sunlight, and that nopony alive had ever seen Celestia use the weapon. Everypony had heard the stories, though. Twilight gulped. Celestia’s expression was grim. Twilight was so used to seeing Princess Celestia smiling. Celestia was scary when she wasn’t smiling.

There was a rusty grinding sound as Starswirl’s mechanical mouth twisted itself into a grin. “So you got my message, Celestia? You’re here alone, I hope. I would hate to have to kill the new princess after holding her all this time.”

Celestia’s voice remained calm, but Twilight had known her long enough to sense the danger in her tone. “Yes, I am alone,” she said, “Though you of all ponies should know how little that limits me.”

“Exactly the attitude I would expect from you, Princess,” said Starswirl. He walked toward her, the mass of demons parting to allow him to pass. “You didn’t disappoint.”

Celestia pointed her weapon at Starswirl. He stopped his advance. “Stop the games Starswirl. Release Princess Sparkle, and you may walk out of here alive.”

“You’re not going to ask what my demands are?” asked Starswirl. He was still smiling, but he backed away from Celestia’s outstretched halberd.

“I don’t care,” she said. “You’ve taken somepony very important to me. The only reason I haven’t killed you already is that Princess Sparkle has never seen an alicorn in true combat. It’s a sight I would rather spare her a little longer.”

“Such confidence, Celestia!” said Starswirl, still backing away. “Some ponies would think your boasts arrogant.”

“Those ponies have not seen me fight,” said Celestia. She took a step forward and a collective shudder went through the demon horde. “But I think a fight may be exactly what you’re after. Sorcerers don’t cast Incomparable Body Arsenal to just talk. It won’t help you. What are you trying to prove?”

Starswirl chuckled. “‘Prove.’ That’s a good word.” He straightened up to his full height. “Superiority, Celestia. That is what I must prove. Superiority over your pupil, and superiority over you.”

“And you think that will earn you your wings?” said Celestia. “You haven’t learned anything in a thousand years. You might have taken inspiration from Twilight Sparkle. In her less than two decades of life, she has learned things about magic that you willfully close your eyes to. She has already surpassed you, Starswirl, and that is why she received the exaltation that you so crave.”

There was another grinding sound as Starswirl’s face shifted back into a grimace. “She cheated! You cheated! I have worked my whole life, accomplishing more than anypony before, and all without exaltation. I will not see you berate me!” His head turned to the demons around him. “Kill her! Kill them both!”

Twilight’s eyes snapped to the two demons standing over her. They were both grinning as they extended their claws. They didn’t have time to use them though, as a glowing bolt of golden essence from Sunlight struck one squarely in the chest, leaving only a blackened skeleton, which crumbled to ash in moments.

Twilight saw her opportunity, and fired a banishing spell at the other demon. It roared impotently as its form dissolved, sent back to Tartaros.

Twilight looked to her mentor and felt the blood leave her face at the sight. In the few seconds that it had taken Twilight to cast her spell, Celestia had decimated the demon forces. All around Celestia were bloody pieces of dismembered erymanthoi, and the sun princess’s hoof was buried in the shattered remains of a demon’s skull in a decidedly new crater in the floor. Twilight brought a hoof to her mouth, trying not to vomit. An effortless sweep from Celestia’s halberd sent a shower of blood across the room as she neatly bisected a new line of attackers.

Celestia herself was fully covered in a glowing magic aura, mounting to the ceiling like a massive bonfire. It was so bright, Twilight had to avert her eyes. This must be her anima banner flaring, thought Twilight. She had heard that such an aura manifested when an alicorn drew on her full power. She realized that she had never really seen Celestia exert herself.

With a rusty grinding sound, Starswirl leapt into the fray. His hooves sprouted spikes, and one detached from his foreleg, remaining connected to the limb by a chain. He swung the limb like a flail, a mad grin on his face. Twilight tried to shout out a warning, but Celestia was already raising a wing to deflect the blow. A golden sheen spread across her raised wing, and the hoof-flail shattered on impact.

Celestia reached out, and with a flick of her wrist, she coiled the chain around her foreleg and pulled hard, pulling Starswirl close. She brought her other hoof up so strike Starswirl squarely in his metal face. The chain snapped as Starswirl went flying across the room and struck the far wall with a thunderous crash. He slumped to the ground.

Celestia spread her wings and pursued, Sunlight raised high for the killing blow, but was forced to divert her attention when Hadrian struck. He was wielding a staff that seemed to be made of the same sludge that dripped from his coat. He swung his weapon overhead, and Celestia raised her own to parry. Their eyes met as their weapons locked.

“Hadrian,” she said, her voice unnervingly calm. “I thought I recognized you in that horde. You’re supposed to be dead.”

“Life and death are full of surprised, Celestia,” said Hadrian. “We never met in person the last time I was on earth. I’m glad to have the opportunity now.”

“Unfortunately, I have no time to correct my mistake,” said Celestia. She hooked Hadrian’s staff on the head of her halberd and wrenched it away from his grasp before knocking him to the ground with a blow from Sunlight’s shaft. “Go back to Tartaros.”

An arc of magic came from Celestia’s horn, and Hadrian's form dissolved. Twilight recognized the more powerful version of the banishment spell she had cast on the erymanthus.

Then everything went completely silent, and time seemed to slow. Out of the corner of her eye, Twilight saw a crimson aura coming from Starswirl, and turned her head to see. The aura covered his whole body, and his mouth was open wide. She somehow knew that her momentary deafness was the result of what Starswirl was saying. Her ears had closed themselves off. They didn’t want to hear what was coming out of Starswirl’s mouth.

One look at Celestia told Twilight that the sun princess could hear every detail.

Celestia’s eyes widened, and for the first time in her life, Twilight saw true fear on her mentor’s face. Celestia’s mouth fell open in a soundless scream. Her anima banner shattered like glass, the shards dissipating as they fell to the ground. The glow surrounding Sunlight flickered and then faded, and the weapon fell to the ground.

Celestia fell to her knees, the fear in her face replaced by pain. She still cried out in that horrible, soundless scream. Twilight could see every muscle in Celestia’s body tensing. Her coat darkened and shriveled. Her ethereal mane and tail both drooped and turned a dull pink; they seemed to be made of mundane hair now. The skin across her face tightened in some places and drooped in others until Celestia truly looked like a pony that was centuries old, and her wings cracked and bent at unnatural angles.

Sound returned to Twilight’s ears, and she heard herself shouting Celestia’s name. She flew the short distance to her mentor, who recoiled as she approached. Despite the wrinkles in her face, the look that Celestia gave Twilight put her more in mind of a small, scared filly than an ancient god-princess.

“No!” shouted Starswirl. His metal body was smoking. He tore off his cape and looked at his wingless back. “No! Why isn’t it working? I won! I beat you!” He turned his gaze skyward. “Have I not proved my superiority? Have I not demonstrated my worthiness?”

He returned his gaze to Twilight and Celestia. He addressed the few remaining erymanthoi, now cowering in corners. “Finish them off.”

A new panic arose in Celestia’s eyes. Her horn glowed dimly, and Starswirl’s glowed to meet it. He shot a burst of countermagic at Celestia, but Twilight stepped forward and responded with her own counterspell, which knocked Starswirl’s out of the air in mid-flight. She spun around to see what spell Celestia was casting, and to her surprise saw only a flash of light as Celestia teleported away.

She left me, Twilight thought. Her eyes darted around the room. With Celestia gone, the erymanthoi were quickly getting their courage back, and Twilight knew she couldn’t banish all of them. Not with Starswirl there to counter anything she tried.

Her eyes settled on a nearby stained-glass window. She took off for it, gritting her teeth as the scalpel wounds in her wings painfully reopened. She held her hooves in front of her face as she crashed through the window. The falling, shattered glass cut into her wings, and Twilight half-glided, half-tumbled into the forest beyond.

Author's Note:

Exalted fight scene go!

Not a whole lot to explain here, except to point out that this scene illustrates why you don't want to piss off elder Solars.

Since I've got a moment, I should probably explain the different types of magic. Magic is broadly divided into two forms: Charms and Sorcery. Charms are far more ubiquitous than sorcery. All of supernatural beings' "be better at stuff" powers are charms. Charms are simply techniques of manipulating one's own essence to get a certain result. They're natural extensions of a supernatural being's power. You learn to use a charm the same way you would learn any skill or technique. Sorcery, on the other hand, is far more involved. It involves a very conscious and deliberate imposition of the sorcerer's will on the surrounding area. Sorcery takes time, and it often involves complex rituals. Countermagic is the realm of sorcery. It can unravel the complex essence constructs of sorcery, but cannot affect the use of most charms.

Charms demonstrated:
Blazing Solar Bolt - vaporizing the demon threatening Twilight
Peony Blossom Attack - cleaving through the line of erymanthoi
Adamant Skin Technique - taking the hit from Starswirl's hoof-flail
Heaven Thunder Hammer - punching Starswirl across the room
She's also probably using a melee excellency. Excellencies are charms that don't do anything fancy, but just make you really, really good at mundane stuff. They're easy to get, and they're efficient, but most players don't use them as much as they should because they're terribly boring.

It strikes me that pony exalted that focus on combat have the potential to be really scary. They can wield a melee weapon with telekinesis while simultaneously going all magic kung-fu with their bare hooves. That's hard to do when you're limited to two human hands.

And wow! What the hell did Starswirl do to Celestia? Exalted players will probably be able to guess, but that's going to be explained pretty explicitly in the main story eventually, so I won't spill it here in the notes.

One last note on Twilight's teleportation: it's actually quite difficult to get teleportation magic in Exalted. It usually requires either Sapphire (2nd circle) sorcery or access to some pretty impressive artifacts. I imagine that Twilight's teleportation is a weaker, Emerald circle version of Travel Without Distance that only works at short range to locations either within the sorcerer's line of sight or to which the sorcerer is intimately familiar. I'm not sure what this would do to balance if it were introduced in an actual Exalted game. Of course, using the words "balance" and "Exalted" in the same sentence is a sure sign of madness, so I won't worry about it too much.

Comments

[Unselfish Knave]

3500735
Oh, Dash is definitely Dragon-Blooded tier. By "enlightened," I mean that she's taken an enlightening charm to grant access to Celestial Martial Arts (the Tiger and Bear line, for those curious). I realize in retrospect that this terminology is a bit ambiguous. I choose to say that this is Exalted's fault, not mine. I imagine there's a lot of overlap between training for Air Dragon Style and training for trick flying.

[fireflutterpony]

3514624
Trick flying would involve much less killinating and murderizing, I imagine. Dash has to love getting to be invisible, though - great for pranks!

I'm seriously uncertain as to what Starswirl threw at Celestia. I mean, if it's what I think it is (and it just about has to be), Starswirl managed to bootstrap himself up to Solar Circle Sorcery. Which is possible, I think, if he's akuma - but then, which of the Yozi (or local equivalents) owns him? What would they think of what he just did to himself (obviously they approved, he was allowed to do it, but why)? And why did Celestia not perfect it away or Adamant Countermagic it? (my best guess is she got caught in a battle Combo that didn't have a surprise negator in it - in which case, she's a moron and should hand her shard over to Starswirl and apologise for ever doubting him, because there's no excuse for a Solar her age to get caught like that.)

An extra aside for Exalted newcomers: the charms Celestia used are all stuff a starting Solar could have. Celestia didn't even get out of first gear - probably for the same reason she hadn't wanted Twilight to see how a Solar fights at all. Doesn't want to traumatize the girl, after all.

[Happerry]

This is a really good story. I hope you continue it sometime.