Chapter 26
Fluttershy had been a little anxious about sleeping over at Sweet Apple Acres. It wasn’t that she thought anything bad would happen, but she just got nervous if she was away from home for more than a few hours.
At least Twilight, Rarity, and Pinkie had been there for her, quietly reassuring Fluttershy whenever her fears started to get the better of her. Thanks to them, Fluttershy eventually drifted off into a mercifully dreamless sleep.
“… Happy Hearth’s Warming Day, everyone!”
One shout of panic and a few moments of blind thrashing later, Fluttershy found herself clinging to a lighting fixture on the ceiling, while her heart beat furiously in her chest.
Down below her, the Crusaders were all standing at the door to the kitchen, and Rarity was struggling to untangle herself from the red blanket that had somehow gotten wrapped around her head. “Sweetie Belle,” she gasped through the fabric, “I thought we talked about the proper way to rouse sleeping ladies.” She pulled the blanket off, revealing a bad case of bed mane and a twisted-up pink nightgown on her body.
Twilight sat up and looked around blearily. “Morning, everyone.” She casually brought Fluttershy down to the floor with her telekinesis. “Are we the last ones up?” A loud yawn coursed through her.
“Eyup,” Apple Bloom said. “Everypony else is in the kitchen, eatin’ breakfast.” Her ears folded down against her head. “Uh, sorry about scarin’ ya, Fluttershy.”
Fluttershy pressed a hoof against her chest and took a few deep breaths. “I-it’s okay, Apple Bloom. You all must be excited about your presents.” She leaned down and scooped up Angel Bunny, who was somehow still asleep.
“You know it,” Scootaloo said with a grin. “Oh, Twilight, can you send our presents to everyone in the Empire now?”
Twilight glanced at a grandfather clock next to the presents in the corner. “Well, it is a few minutes before when I told them I’d send their gifts, but I suppose Spirit and Cliff wouldn’t mind.” Purple light surrounded her horn then reached out to encompass one of the stacks of presents. Moments later, they all disappeared in a flash of light. “Okay, let’s have a quick breakfast before we open our own presents.” She yawned again. “And coffee. At least two mugs of that.”
The Crusaders let out a collective “Awwwhhh” of disappointment but followed her back to the kitchen anyway.
Fluttershy didn’t know what to expect as she tailed behind the group. It was surreal to see both of her parents sitting and talking with Applejack and Granny Smith at the kitchen table. Plates full of food sat at the center of the table, with smaller plates around the edges so that everyone could help themselves to whatever they wanted.
“Luna’s history as a military leader is largely unknown to us,” Silver Lining said, “but if Celestia believes in her, then I have no doubt that she will direct our troops well.” Fluttershy’s mother looked far more approachable now that she was out of her formal dress and had let her mane down. Her eyes were still as deep and probing as ever, but a relaxed smile, coupled with the mug of hot cocoa in her hooves, stopped her from looking too scary.
Next to her, Sunrise was enjoying a plate of apple slices and cheese as he stared out the window. The snowfall had gotten lighter since the night before, but tiny flakes were still coming down. There was probably at least a foot of snow out there already.
“Ah sure hope she knows what she’s doin’,” Granny Smith said. “Big Mac’s a right tough one, but ah can’t help but worry ‘bout him.”
“Any parent or grandparent would feel the same.” Silver Lining saw Fluttershy and the others then, and her smile grew just a little. “Good morning, Fluttershy, and happy Hearth’s Warming.”
“Good morning, Mother.” Fluttershy smiled back nervously. Everything was perfect, like a dream that could evaporate at any moment. “Happy Hearth’s Warming.”
Breakfast was eaten quickly, with the Crusaders practically begging for everyone to hurry up. Fluttershy dug into her meal enthusiastically, more than making up for barely eating anything last night. Now that the adrenaline was wearing off, she also felt the need to have a cup of coffee with cream and sugar.
The smell roused Angel Bunny, and Fluttershy poured a mug for him as well. Angel always had been a night owl.
Soon they were all finished, and the group moved into the front room. The Crusaders took the floor this time, leaving the couch for Granny Smith, Twilight, and Rarity. Fluttershy’s parents seated themselves at the small table, and Fluttershy herself stood with Applejack next to the wall, watching the younger members of their group with a smile.
No sooner had they all taken their spaces than a wisp of smoke came in through the chimney and expanded into a new pile of presents with a scroll on top.
“Hmm, seven minutes late,” Twilight said, lifting the scroll with her magic. “I guess Spirit slept in again.” She removed the seal and cleared her throat, “ ‘Happy Hearth’s Warming, everyone. Thanks for all the presents, and we hope you like the ones we got for you. Anyway, not to scare you, but an army of dragons was spotted flying toward the Empire a few minutes ago. It looks like they’re here to attack-’ ”
Gasps and shouts of surprise filled the room.
“Quiet, everyone!” Applejack shouted, cutting through the noise. “Twi, what else does it say?”
Twilight gulped. “He says they might need my help. Celestia will be teleporting to the Castle of Friendship to pick me up in five minutes. I have until then to get my armor on and get to the castle.” She looked around, her eyes full of worry. “I’m sorry, everyone. Just open your presents and try to enjoy your Hearth’s Warming Day. I’ll be back as soon as I can, but that might not be for a while.” Then she disappeared in a burst of purple light.
Silence fell on the room as they exchanged frightened looks.
“… I don’t feel like opening presents anymore.” Scootaloo pushed one of the wrapped boxes away from her.
“I know Rainbow Dash would appreciate it if you did anyway,” Silver Lining said almost gently.
The whole room turned to look at her.
“I witnessed a number of skirmishes and riots during my time as a member of the Royal Guard,” she continued. “One thing I can assure you is that all soldiers prefer to think of their friends and family as doing something happy while thinking of them fondly.”
“Maybe … we could talk about them,” Sunrise whispered, shrinking back a little at the attention he was drawing. “Big Mac’s present?” He looked at his wife.
“An excellent suggestion.” Silver Lining squeezed his hoof with her own before getting up and approaching the presents from the Empire. She selected a large red box and pushed it to Apple Bloom. “Why don’t you open your brother’s gift, read his note, and then share a memory about him?” She turned to Granny Smith. “If that is acceptable to you, of course.”
Granny nodded and wiped a tear from her cheek. “Go on, AB. Let’s see what Mac got ya.”
Apple Bloom reluctantly peeled off the wrapping paper, revealing a wooden box underneath. After prying off the lid, the young mare’s eyes widened. “Sweet Celestia.” She reached down and lifted out an ornate helmet. “This is traditional Crystal Empire guard armor. Lookit the way the pieces of the helmet’re all nailed into place. They haven’t made armor this way since the Empire reappeared, and he got me a whole suit of it!” A faint smile crossed her lips. “Where’d he even find this?”
“Why don’t ya check the note?” Applejack suggested, smiling a little too.
“Oh, yeah.” Apple Bloom pulled a piece of paper out of the box and cleared her throat. “It says, ‘I know ya really like studyin’ armor, so ah got ya this. It should fit ya too. I’m sure the boys won’t be able ta keep their eyes off ya if ya wore it. I …’ ” She paused and blinked away a tear, “ ‘I’m so proud of the mare yer growin’ into. Love, yer big brother.’ ”
The young mare looked around at the others in the room, then down to the note in her hooves, a sad smile on her face. “Big Mac always did think about the rest of us more than himself. The reason he didn’t want ta join the Everfree Platoon at first was because he worried about what’d happen to us if somethin’ happened to him. He actually asked for our permission to go after Twi asked for his help. Sometimes I wish I’d told him no,” she looked up at Fluttershy, “but then I remember that he’s helpin’ the entire village, especially Cliff an’ Fluttershy, an’ suddenly I couldn’t be more proud of him for goin’.” She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I suppose it’s your turn, Scoots.”
Scootaloo nodded solemnly and rummaged through the pile until she found her present from Rainbow Dash. It was a rolled up scroll of some kind. She took off the ribbon holding it in place and unrolled it. A piece of paper fell to the ground as she did so, but Scootaloo barely seemed to notice it. “Whoa, this is the new Wonderbolts poster, and it’s autographed by their entire starting lineup!” She grabbed the fallen paper and read, “ ‘Heya, Sis. The Wonderbolts all say thanks for helping to invent and build their new suits of Everfree Armor. Those things have already saved a ton of lives in the Everfree Platoon, and I know they’re going to help a ton more Equestrians before this is over. Still a year until you become an adult, and you’re already changing the world. I always knew you’d find your own special way to be awesome. I couldn’t have asked for a better little sister.’ ”
Scootaloo rubbed the back of a hoof across her eyes. “Dang it, crying isn’t awesome.” She rubbed her eyes again, but that didn’t seem to help. “Dang it …” She shook her head and pressed on through the tears. “Rainbow Dash was always my hero, but at first it was just cuz she was such a great flier. Then I got to know her more and saw that she was an even more awesome pony. When I realized that I’d probably never fly on my own, I was about ready to give up on ever achieving anything good in my life. It was Rainbow Dash that showed me I didn’t have to fly to be special or important. I could be awesome just being, well, Scootaloo.” She wiped her eyes one more time. “Ugh, someone else go before I fall apart completely.”
And so they went around the room, with each of them opening a gift from their friend or family member in the Empire, reading the note aloud, and sharing some memory about the dragon or pony that had written it. Fluttershy’s parents didn’t have any gifts to open from that stack, but neither of them seemed to mind. Tears became more and more common as the morning went on. Fluttershy barely made it through Cliff’s note, breaking down and sobbing into Applejack’s shoulder as soon as she finished reading it.
Eventually there was only one present left. “Prince Blueblood?” Apple Bloom said in confusion. “Uh, it’s addressed to you, Fluttershy.” She held out the medium sized, and extravagantly decorated, box.
“For me?” Fluttershy accepted the box, wiping away a stray tear. “Why would Blueblood send a gift to me?”
“And why couldn’t he have shown that kind of interest three years ago?” Silver Lining asked.
Ignoring her mother’s—hopefully—joke, she undid the ribbon and carefully unwrapped Blueblood’s present. Inside of the box was a bag and a short note. “ ‘To Fluttershy, thank you for supporting me during my training and never insulting me when I made a mistake. I was sorry to see you go. I didn’t know what you like, so here’s one hundred bits. Buy yourself something nice. From, Prince Blueblood.’ ” She opened the bag and saw that it was full of golden coins.
Looking up, the yellow mare blushed a little when she saw the rest of the room focused on her. “I, um, I don’t really have any stories to tell about Blueblood.” She shrugged apologetically.
“Cheapskate,” Rarity muttered. “He could have afforded to buy you a private island.”
“It was nice of him to send anything, though.” Fluttershy looked at the box in her hooves a moment longer before putting it next to Cliff and Spirit’s presents. “Should we start on our presents to each other now?”
“That’s probably a good idea,” Applejack said. She looked behind her, to the north, and her expression clouded. “Ah think we’d all drive ourselves crazy if we just sat around an’ worried until we hear back from Twi.”
“I think you’re right.” Fluttershy followed her friend’s gaze. A shudder coursed through her as she wondered what might be happening to Cliff at that very moment. Until Twilight returned, all she could do was wait.
-_-_-_-_-_-
Celestia appeared at the base of the Crystal Palace with Twilight at her side. She glanced around, drawing on over a thousand years of experience to take in every detail as quickly as possible. The first thing she noticed was that there were two clusters of dragons in the distance. They were still a few minutes away, but one group was clearly moving to the Empire’s northern borders while the other was aiming for the south.
They must have developed a way to penetrate the shield, she reflected. Most likely they could only negate it in a small area if they were splitting their forces, but Equestria needed to remain cautious in case this was a bluff to cover their actual goal.
Thousands of soldiers stood on the walls to the north and the south, preparing to face the oncoming dragons. Celestia had no doubt that they would fight bravely if it came to that, laying down their lives to protect their home. A part of her glowed with pride at the quiet nobility of her subjects, while another part wanted to hang her head in shame that she wasn’t powerful enough to protect them on her own.
Luna was part of the group to the south, flapping her wings steadily to hover above the troops she would be commanding. That had to mean General Heroic was with the troops in the north.
The streets of the Crystal Empire were barren, for which Celestia was grateful. She had seen far too many civilians killed by stray spells or arrows during war. “Stay safe, my little ponies,” she whispered, silently vowing to protect them all with every ounce of the power that she did have.
Closer to the palace, thousands of soldiers stood at attention, their golden armor shining brightly in the morning light. Among them she noticed two groups in Everfree Armor. The presence of wyrms marked one group as the Everfree Platoon. Spirit and Autumn Gem stood at the front of the group, watching the Alliance forces cautiously. Celestia wished she had time to speak with them and provide whatever help or reassurance she could.
The other group was comprised entirely of unicorns. Even with the face-concealing helmets, Celestia recognized enough of them to know that they were her Solar Unicorns, the most powerful battle mages in Equestria. Their leader, Captain Shining Armor, was already running toward Celestia and Twilight. He was most likely here to protect the Crystal Heart. Even if drake auras could allow them to pierce his shields, Shining Armor was still the most talented defensive mage of his generation. There were plenty of other things he could do to keep the Heart safe.
“Princess Celestia, Twilight, I’m glad you both made it!” Shining embraced his sister. “The dragons aren’t here yet, but they’ve split their forces to the north and south.” He pointed to clusters of dragons Celestia had noticed earlier. “Luna is in charge of the troops in the south, and Heroic is leading things up north. The rest of us are here to make sure they don’t try anything with the Crystal Heart.”
Celestia nodded politely. She had centuries of practice with ponies telling her things that she had already deduced. “I assume Twilight would be able to contribute best if she remained here with you and the Everfree Platoon, and I should join Heroic to the north?” Being polite didn’t mean that she couldn’t hurry things along, however.
Shining stared at her for a moment before regaining his composure. “Yes, exactly.”
“Very well. I should tell Heroic that I’ve arrived.” Celestia began channeling magic into her horn for another teleportation spell.
“Good luck out there,” Shining said.
“To you both as well.” Celestia extended a wing and laid it across Twilight’s back. “I hope that you won’t be required to fight, but if you are forced to take a life today, please remember what you’ve been telling Fluttershy for the past month.”
Twilight paled a little bit under her armor. “I will, and Celestia, please be careful.”
“I will be, my friend. Please keep your own eyes open. The Alliance has surprised us at every turn so far. They must have prepared at least one trick for today, and we must be ready to stop their plan as soon as it is revealed.” Celestia gave the smaller alicorn one more squeeze with her wing before teleporting away.
Reappearing above the northern wall, Celestia located a cluster of military leaders below and to her left. Heroic stood at the center of it, no doubt giving last-minute directions. Celestia landed just outside the group and approached on hoof.
“Princess Celestia,” Heroic bowed when she saw the alicorn, “thank goodness you’re here. What are your orders?”
“Arise, Heroic. You are this army’s general. I am at your command as well.” Celestia wouldn’t have given the pegasus control of these troops if she didn’t trust her judgment, and it was important that the other leaders recognized that trust.
Heroic got back up and paused to look at the oncoming dragons. “The Alliance hasn’t tried to hide at all. We spread our troops out to protect a larger area, but they’ve actually been flying straight at the middle of our formation. That means either this is a giant diversion, or they honestly think they can punch through our lines.” She turned back to Celestia. “I want you opposite the main force of the dragons, wherever that is when they get closer. The Wonderbolts have the same orders, so stick with them and keep an eye out for any tricks. Stalling their initial charge wouldn’t be a bad idea either, but don’t be afraid to abandon the wall if something happens and they need you back at the palace.”
Celestia saluted. “Yes, General.” Heroic’s orders were almost exactly the ones that Celestia herself would have given, which was to be expected. After all, she had written most of the books about military strategy and tactics that she expected her generals to study.
“That’s everything,” Heroic said. “You all have your orders, now let’s send these dragons running and enjoy the rest of our Hearth’s Warming.” Her confidence was feigned, but Celestia doubted any of the others could tell, and she certainly wasn’t going to say anything. The Equestrian Army had already gone through two crushing defeats. It needed every ounce of morale it could get.
As the other leaders returned to their troops, Spitfire, the captain of the Wonderbolts, approached. She was wearing a suit of Everfree Armor, but painted blue and yellow to resemble her team’s normal flight suits. “It will be an honor to fight alongside you, Princess Celestia. The Wonderbolts are holding their position just above us.” She pointed to a group of similarly outfitted pegasi. “What’s the best way we can support you once things turn ugly?”
Looking up, Celestia counted just under eighty Wonderbolts. Mostly reserve members, but they had all seen battle at least once. “There is a drake among the Alliance forces named Yol Toor. He is gray with brown horns and likely to be surrounded by a red-and-blue aura once the fighting begins.” Celestia lowered her gaze to Spitfire. “Leave him to me. You will only get your teammates killed if you try to fight him.”
Cliff’s notes had told Celestia something very important. Silver Tail and the Hurricanes might be the heads of the Dragon Alliance, but Yol Toor was its heart. If she was able to kill him in battle, the others would almost certainly lose the will to fight.
It was only a shame that either herself or Luna would have to face Yol Toor alone. His lifetime of duels would give him a strong advantage in a one-on-one battle, but Silver Tail could wreak untold destruction on the battlefield if left unchecked.
“I’ve heard about him, Your Highness,” Spitfire said, shifting nervously. “The drake that defeated Luna. We’ll stay out of his way, but if it looks like you’ve run into some trouble with him, don’t expect us to just sit by and do nothing.”
“I understand.” Celestia spread her wings and pushed off, soaring higher and higher into the air as she opened herself up to the sun. Power flowed into her, as it had since the very first time she moved the heavenly body. Her mane and tail began to glow, radiating some of the light and heat that she was drawing into herself. Soon her entire form was glowing, and her mane and tail had become masses of fire.
Equestria was a peaceful place now, but it hadn’t always been that way. Monsters, invading armies, and even a fair number of dragons had threatened her ponies in the early years of Equestria, and with Luna, she had crushed all of them to protect her subjects. Nearly a thousand years of peace had dulled her skill and power, but sparring matches with Luna had helped restore both over the past few years.
Outside of the Crystal Heart’s shield, the Alliance warriors were drawing close enough to be seen clearly, and it seemed luck had favored Celestia. Yol Toor was at the head of the army. The gray drake met Celestia’s gaze, and an unspoken message passed between them. He knew that she was here to fight him specifically, and he would oblige her.
Very well then. Celestia began channeling the sun’s magic into dozens of different things. The earth pony magic within her took some of it, strengthening her bones, muscles, and tendons. Pegasi magic reached out to the air currents around her, readying tornadoes, hailstorms, and bolts of lightning. Unicorn magic wove itself into spells for attack, movement, and defense, ready to be completed the moment she needed them. Finally, wyrm magic, the most recent addition to her repertoire, further amplified her body, while healing magic began to flow just beneath her skin, ready to activate as soon as any harm befell her.
To onlookers, Celestia now appeared less a creature of flesh and blood and more a fiery outline with piercing white eyes. If it weren’t for the metal boots, chestplate, wing guards, and horn guard, it would have been difficult to tell that she was a pony at all.
None of that armor was meant to protect her, of course. With a body temperature measured in tens of thousands of degrees Fahrenheit, Celestia actually had to maintain a special shield to protect the rest of the army from herself. Almost anything solid that got close to her would be melted instantly, and only the most powerful spells could reach her without the magic of the sun repelling them. Her ‘armor’ only served as a focus for Celestia’s magic. Yet even then, Celestia knew that her true power wasn’t in her magic. Fundamentally, she was not a warrior. She was a diplomat.
“The plan will not work,” Celestia whispered, letting her magic carry the words to every dragon in the approaching army. A unicorn spell that she had learned from Starswirl made each dragon who heard the words accept them as their own. A nagging doubt was planted in thousands of minds simultaneously, and the effects showed.
Celestia noticed how dozens of Alliance wyrms were carrying staffs, and how they each gripped them a little tighter at her words. The dragons without staffs either glanced at the wyrms who did carry them or stared at the Crystal Palace with expressions full of grim determination.
Cliff’s notes had mentioned a staff-like weapon that could drain the magic out of its victim from a distance. It was unfinished when Cliff returned with the Crystal Heart, but the Alliance could have completed it since then. “These staves will never get through the shield,” she whispered to the wyrms carrying them. Then to the rest of the army, she said, “The Crystal Heart is too well defended this time. It won’t be taken again.”
The wyrms behaved about how Celestia expected, looking more and more unsure of themselves, but the other dragons actually seemed to grow more confident.
“Don’t listen to that voice,” a dragon shouted to the army. Celestia quickly found the speaker, a purple wyrm with red head spikes standing on the back of a golden drake. “One of the ponies is doing something to us!”
Celestia frowned. She had been hoping to get more information out of them before they caught on.
Yol Toor locked gazes with Celestia across the gap that separated them. “Ponies of the Empire,” he roared, “evacuate the Crystal Palace. It will be destroyed in this battle.” His expression told Celestia that her subterfuge was both unnecessary and beneath her.
She looked back evenly. The Alliance was using every weapon and strategy at its disposal to gain the upper hoof over her subjects, and she would respond in kind to defend them. “I won't let you harm the Palace,” she whispered, sending her voice to his ears.
“Evacuate it anyway,” Yol Toor replied.
Celestia hesitated for a moment before nodding. “Do as he says,” she sent to the Palace. “It never hurts to be cautious.” Though deep down, she knew that Cadance would stay behind, trusting in Celestia and Luna to keep her safe. That mare had always been a stubborn one.
Yol Toor nodded back to Celestia and then ordered his forces to wait while the Palace was cleared of civilians.
Tense minutes ticked by as the two armies watched each other, knowing that they would soon be locked in battle. Celestia spent the time studying Yol Toor. Understanding an opponent was key to defeating them, that fact was true of any conflict, but the gray drake was extremely difficult to read. He was almost motionless other than the beating of his wings, and his eyes were studying her with the same intensity that she was directing at him.
Eventually, as if by some unspoken signal, Yol Toor transformed. Like the other drakes, he had been in his battle form all along, but now he grew even more, to nearly half again his previous size. Large fangs protruded from his upper jaw, looking harder and far sharper than those of a normal dragon. Bony ridges appeared all over his body, interlocking into what could only be called a suit of bone armor, as his claws extended and curved into sickle-like blades. The tip of his tail expanded into a spiked ball, large enough to crush a normal pony with its weight alone. Fire appeared around his wings, growing stronger and brighter until the flesh and bones disappeared, leaving not one but two sets of fiery wings which passed through each other as they flapped yet somehow still held the drake aloft. Finally, blue-and-red light exploded from his body, extending out a few inches past the bone armor that had replaced his scales.
“Now the battle begins,” he called. “Let us fight together, my friends and allies. Until either death or victory, stand with me against this foe!”
Almost as soon as he finished speaking, the wyrms with staffs all pointed them at the Crystal Heart’s shield and fired some sort of spell. Spirals of dark energy shot from the ends of the staffs, impacting the shield before fading away. For a moment, it seemed as if the spell had failed, but that hope quickly evaporated as a dark outline formed on the shield where each spell had hit, stretching out to connect with the other marks nearby. Within seconds a spidery rune had formed on the surface of the shield, large enough that at least one hundred drakes would be able to fly through it at once. To the left and right, similar runes were forming.
On the walls beneath Celestia, thousands of earth and crystal ponies took aim with their scorpios, personal ballista that fired arrows the size of small spears, while an equal number of unicorns readied attack spells. The pegasi around Celestia were still and almost silent. They all knew that they would be the first to engage the Alliance forces, and the most likely to take heavy casualties.
“Ready yourselves, my little ponies,” Celestia said to each soldier that would fight alongside her. “Steady your nerves and steel your hearts. The ponies of the Crystal Empire are depending on us, and we will fight to the death to protect them!”
All at once the inside of the runes faded, taking the shield in that area with them.
“Cover your eyes,” Celestia whispered to her soldiers as dragon forces rushed to the gap. She reached out to the sun again and released a wave of blinding light.
Somewhere among the ranks, a pony shouted, “Praise to the Sun Goddess!”
Celestia chose to ignore that. A thousand years of telling ponies that she wasn’t a goddess hadn’t worked, and this was hardly the place to discuss it anyway.
“ATTACK!” More than a mere battle cry, the power of the Royal Canterlot Voice hit the dragons like a wall, deafening them before they could regain their sight.
Thousands of arrows fired at her command, bearing down on the dazed Alliance forces, but a wall of fire erupted from Yol Toor’s wings, destroying many of the arrows before they could reach his allies. Even enchanted ice arrows fizzled and disappeared from the heat. Yet their unicorn attack spells and remaining arrows struck true, cutting into the leading edge of the dragons.
Blood and dragon bodies fell in almost equal measure as roars of pain filled the air.
Pressing their advantage, Celestia released a wave of plasma at Yol Toor while generating a dispelling charm around the rune that was keeping the shield open. Unfortunately, her charm had no effect on it whatsoever.
A set of giant fangs crashed together around Celestia, nearly piercing the shield she was holding just a few inches above her coat.
What? She teleported several hundred feet up and sent a bolt of crackling electricity down on her attacker. Somehow Yol Toor had closed the gap between them in the moment that she had been distracted. His glowing wings were even brighter than they had been seconds earlier, and the lightning didn’t seem to affect him at all. Celestia grit her teeth.
Yol Toor glanced up, and his fiery wings suddenly flared outwards to three times their previous size. The energy in them was familiar to Celestia. It had come from the sun.
He absorbed my plasma somehow. Celestia threw everything into strengthening her body and dove to meet him.
The look in Yol Toor’s eyes said it all. He wouldn’t try to dodge or trick her. He wanted to test himself against her defenses, and he was offering her the same chance in return. Turning so he could ram her with the horns coming off the top of his head, the ancient drake shot upwards, roaring a challenge.
Just before they hit, Celestia sent millions of pounds of telekinetic force down through her hooves, and Yol Toor’s fiery wings expanded out so far that they nearly touched the ground.
There was a sound like an explosion as the two met. Celestia’s forehooves felt like they had nearly been shattered, and her shield rippled like water, but it held, and Yol Toor was sent crashing into the ground below.
Celestia took a deep breath and rubbed her aching hooves.
Down below, Yol Toor climbed out of the crater he had made and looked up at her, nodding as a show of respect. A small crack ran the length of his horn, but otherwise, he looked completely unharmed.
He had landed just inside the Empire’s wall, where ponies were exchanging ranged volleys with the Alliance’s forces.
Celestia teleported in front of Yol Toor and tried to deliver an uppercut to his jaw, but he somehow managed to do a back flip and dodge, hitting her hard with his club-like tail.
Pain exploded across her wings and her vision blacked out for a moment as she went flying through the Empire’s wall, rolling and careening across the field outside the Empire until she finally ground to a halt.
A beam of red-and-blue energy engulfed her immediately, pummeling her already weakened shield as the ground beneath her melted into lava. Celestia couldn’t see anything other than blinding light, and she couldn’t hear anything over the screech of his attack against her shield. This, she knew, was Void Fire, among the most destructive techniques any drake could use.
Her ponies were still in danger.
Celestia slowly climbed to her hooves, ignoring the agonizing pain in her wings, and teleported back to the Crystal Empire.
Yol Toor was already turning to her, his fiery wings transforming into lunging tendrils. One of them even slashed across Celestia’s side, cutting into her shield, before the ground beneath Yol Toor disappeared, reappearing just above the drake’s head and smashing down as hard as Celestia could manage.
Violent tremors shook the area, knocking ponies and dragons flat, as Celestia lifted the pillar of earth and slammed it down again. Meanwhile, healing magic flowed into her wings, snapping bones back into place.
Another beam of energy shot clean through the pillar, and Yol Toor flew into the air once more. Bits of molten rock slid off his aura as he turned to her and flapped. Hundreds of nearly invisible shapes flew from his wings, jabbing into Celestia’s shield like spears and covering the ground around her.
She gasped in pain as one spear cut through her shield and pierced her right foreleg, but her wings were safe, and that was what she needed.
Celestia teleported into the air and jerked her wings back, ripping every bit of heat from the area around Yol Toor. Even the air liquefied, bubbling and steaming around the edge of her influence.
In the center, the ancient drake’s fiery aura fought against the cold, generating heat as quickly as she could pull it away. Yol Toor met her gaze for a moment, almost seeming to apologize, then he roared and shot the largest beam of Void Fire yet, even wider than Celestia’s full wingspan.
It would have missed her anyway, but she strengthened her shield and flew to the side. The energy in Void Fire was unbelievably strong, and Yol Toor was still maintaining it for some reason.
Celestia risked a glance over her shoulder—and felt the blood drain out of her face.
He hadn’t been aiming for her at all. More than a dozen other beams of Void Fire were being launched by drakes around the battlefield, and all of them were aimed directly at the Crystal Palace. There were even two golden beams firing down on the palace from above. A small group must have moved into position during the battle, she realized distantly.
Shining Armor’s shield was already up to defend against them, but Celestia knew that even her Captain of the Guard wouldn’t be able to defend against so much raw power.
Celestia had a single heartbeat to realize that Cadance was in there, and then Shining Armor’s shield collapsed, and the Crystal Palace was sliced to pieces by a dozen beams of energy. Nearly half of the structure crashed into the ground, shattering into countless fragments, before a purple aura surrounded what was left, holding it unsteadily in place.
Celestia turned back to Yol Toor, feeling numb on the inside but determined to continue fighting if need be. She even flew towards his beam of Void Fire, anything to make him attack her instead of her subjects.
To her surprise, the drake ended his attack before she could reach it, his eyes sad and knowing. “Cease fighting,” he shouted, ignoring the frost that covered him. “The Palace is gone, but the shield remains. We will retreat and plan our next move.” He nodded once to Celestia. “Save as many as you can.” Then he turned and flew beyond the edge of the Heart’s shield.
Now Celestia understood. The Alliance knew it couldn’t destroy the Crystal Heart, and so it had targeted the Palace instead.
Down below, the rest of the Alliance forces broke off and followed him toward the gap in the shield, which was beginning to shrink as the rune around it faded. Scorpio fire rained down on the retreating dragons, striking down a few unlucky ones, but the vast majority of them flooded through the gap, escaping safely.
Celestia waited only long enough for the shield to close behind them before she teleported away. Twilight wouldn’t be able to hold up the remains of the Crystal Palace for long, and she had to believe that Cadance was still alive in there.
Please, she begged of any forces that might be listening, let Cadance still be alive!
Stats
Page generated in 0.026 seconds
Total duration
788 users online
1,054,890 hits today, 2,205,040 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
7685569 I am especially peeved how it looks like Celestia took advantage of 5 ponies to only benefit one. Specifically the way in which Twilight ascended.
wow, how many battles can the ponies lose? They need to find a way to end this.
Did twilight really have to finish the letter and kill the mood? Couldn't she have said something along the lines of being needed back by celestia and left out the army of dragons?
7686052
That's more an issue with the Elements of Harmony themselves, though, isn't it? After all, they were the ones to blast Twilight into the Ascension Zone.
7686310 yeah but look at the wording of the spell itself that was recited by her before hand.
Hmm, destruction of the Palace itself would expose the Crystal Heart, which could just be moved elsewhere for protection though it'd probably remove the barrier protecting the Empire itself. Though given the blow to their morale, I wonder if the barrier would even still have the strength to stop the Alliance in the next battle.
The chance of this ending peacefully shrinks with each chapter
If they killed Cadence or Flurry, Celestia and Luna will NEVER let any of the Alliance live.
7686101 War usually is.
7686114 It wasn't a lose except in the sense that the Dragon Alliance achieved its goal of destroying the Crystal Palace. You'll hear more about the outcome next chapter, but compared to their first two battles, Equestria held its ground quite well this time.
7686227 That's a really good idea.
7686236 Only Discord can go to ludicrous speed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnGVLdsl0PE
7686240 She was so shocked that she read it out loud without really thinking about it.
*still in dragon form*
Me: I know not is I should feel joy or say called it.
Robot: I think we are in the camp of wanting to turn our emotions into a flame to melt dragon scales because of irony.
M.Wolfdragon: Stay here and let them fight, it is not our war but I'm game to smack their leader in the head and say go peace because you have the food your are fighting for given as trade.
F.Wolfdragon: I would time travel like cliff just to do an AU where this is done and every one is happy but we can't do that.
Me: I'm still amazed no one has messed with us.
7686380 The blow to morale is a lot more devastating for the Crystal Empire than the Alliance realizes, but crystal ponies also feel united, loyal, brave, and determined. So their hope and happiness might be waning, but those other emotions can keep the shield going for a while, at least.
7686392 It shrinks, yes, but individuals on both sides are starting to realize that this war is a huge mistake, and they'll be willing to work toward peace.
7686599 Agreed.
Great chapter 26,
I was into the fight. Hope nopony die
With every battle I dislike the DA more and more. When peace is achived, there will be a lot of distrust between the dragons and ponies. Well more work for Spirit and his friends and family.