A New Dragon in the Crystal Empire

by Vedues

Chapter 55

Raw hatred surrounded Celestia like a fire, scorching her heart and mind with its intensity. She tried to shrink away from it, but it was everywhere.

Yol Toor stood in front of her for a moment before fading into nothingness. A gasp of pain reached her ears, then a shuddering breath, then silence.

Roars of sorrow and anger echoed through the air. Blood soaked her coat.

Celestia awoke with a start and sat up in her bed. The sudden movement made her chest hurt, but she barely noticed.

A prophetic dream, the first she had experienced in years.

Something terrible was about to happen, something that involved Yol Toor and would result in a catastrophe.

She briefly considered sending a message to Luna, but there wasn’t time. Something pulled at her, demanding that she had to act now or live to see the deaths of millions.

Celestia called on her magic and teleported to the dungeon’s entrance. She would have teleported right into his room, but one of the dungeon’s many enchantments prevented that. She punched the door open, ripping it from its hinges, and took off down the dimly lit tunnel as fast as her wounded chest would allow.

Yol Toor’s cell was at the very end of the tunnel, and its door would be nearly impossible to force her way through. Celestia pulled it open with her magic instead and jumped through at full speed, ready to do whatever was necessary.

Nine pony guards lay on the ground inside with trace amounts of a knockout spell surrounding them. The tenth guard, a unicorn named Ebon Light, stood next to the control node for Yol Toor’s cell, and he was turning toward her with a look of shock on his face. Yol Toor himself was lay on the floor of his cell. The drake’s normally glossy scales were more dull than Celestia had ever seen them, and he seemed to be struggling just to breathe.

“Princess?” Ebon asked incredulously. “What-?”

That was as far as he got before Celestia reached the unicorn and shoved him away. Her right hoof connected with the node, which read her magic signature and granted her control over it. Celestia couldn’t believe it. The magic drain in the cell had been turned up to maximum, enough to kill any creature trapped inside of it. She ordered the magic drain to stop completely.

“Princess,” Ebon said weakly, rolling over to face her, “what are you doing?”

Celestia ignored him and turned to Yol Toor. He was alive. She pressed a hoof against her chest and leaned against the wall, breathing a sigh of relief.

She had made it in time.

“Are you hurt?” Ebon climbed to his hooves and ran to her side. “Princess?”

“Why?” Celestia asked, unable to face him. “Assault on nine royal guards and the attempted murder of a prisoner. You will go to jail for this, my little pony, and your career in the royal guard is over.” She blinked away a tear. “Why did you do this?”

The unicorn stepped back, then his legs gave out, dropping him to the floor. “I … He tried to kill you.” Fear, anger, pain, and confusion warred in his voice. “I couldn’t let him trick you into another ambush, Princess. I couldn’t.”

“He tricked me into nothing.” Celestia touched the control node again, commanding the cell to open. The enchanted glass lifted up into the ceiling, and she stepped into the cell and knelt next to Yol Toor. “I was injured by the Requiem Guard. Yol Toor had nothing to do with it.”

She touched her horn to the dragon’s forehead. He seemed to be in a meditative state of some kind, drastically reducing the magic he needed to live. His body was critically low, though. She wove together a crude magic filter and let some of her power flow into him.

“No.” Ebon shook his head. “He’s the reason. He …”

“Stop.” Celestia knew the look of horror that was coming over that poor pony. He was realizing the gravity of his crimes and how much he would pay for them. It was an expression that never failed to break her heart. “Come here.”

Ears pressed back, eyes wet, and legs shaking, he did.

Celestia touched the bruise she had left on his shoulder and healed it. She gently pulled him down into a hug. “I am sorry, my little pony, but you let your anger drive you to the point that you almost committed murder. There is nothing I can do to change that.”

A sob shook Ebon, then another, and soon he was crying helplessly onto her shoulder.

Celestia held him as she reflected on her dream. This poor misguided pony had nearly caused untold destruction across Equestria. What if some other pony tried something similar?

The obvious solution would be to let Yol Toor out of this cell and give him a guest room in the castle. He was skilled and powerful enough that there would be little to fear from normal ponies, but that same power made Celestia hesitate. One burst of his Void Fire could cut through Canterlot Peak, destroying the city in the process.

Celestia doubted that Yol Toor would do such a thing, but did she have the right to risk millions of lives on the chance that she could be wrong?

Ebon eventually pulled away from their embrace and wiped his eyes. “I am ready to face my punishment, Princess.” He gave a shaky salute.

“It will take at least a week to arrange a trial.” Celestia used her magic to wipe away a tear that he had missed. “Until then, go home.”

He stared at her in shock. “What about the others?” He gestured to the unconscious guards.

“I can wake them,” Celestia said. “Go, spend time with your family while you still can.”

Ebon looked at the floor and nodded weakly. “Thank you, Princess.” He walked to the door and paused, looking back at her. “I … I’m sorry.”

“I know,” Celestia said, “and I will do everything I can to make your sentence as light as possible.”

Ebon took a deep breath and saluted once more before leaving.

Celestia watched him go. If only admission of mistakes also undid the consequences of them. She rose and stepped out of the cell, leaving Yol Toor inside. She wanted to let him out, he deserved at least that much trust, but the safety of her subjects had to come first. No matter how terrible it made her feel.

-_-_-_-_-_-

Talon couldn’t sleep. No matter how exhausted she felt, her mind simply refused to shut down and let her rest. Their spy had confirmed that Celestia was still alive, but would she be vengeful after her brush with death? Was Genesis safe in Equestria, or had Talon’s plan condemned him to a jail cell? What had the Elements done to Providence? Could she have changed how the ambush went down? Should she let Clodhopper into the Squad? What would happen to Samhane?

The nightly wind storm formed a howling background to Talon’s restless thoughts, constantly blowing in more freezing air to sap away what little heat had built up.

Eventually Talon heard the rest of Synapse beginning to stir. A part of her insisted that she get up with them, but it was drowned out by the bone-deep exhaustion that filled her body and mind. She pressed her back more firmly against Tornado’s warm chest.

Some dragons in the squad had commented on how Tornado always curled up around Talon to sleep. Some dragons thought it meant they were in a relationship now. Some dragons were idiots. Tornado put out more heat than a furnace. Talon would have shared him with Crystal if she didn’t insist on sleeping next to Cloud these days.

Crystal. Talon couldn’t help but feel guilty when she realized that it had been weeks since she talked to her oldest friend about anything personal. She needed to fix that. Maybe after morning training she could pull Crystal aside and just talk for a few hours.

She should probably do the same with Heart when she got a chance. Heart was always off at Council meetings these days, arguing the Hurricanes out of one genocidal plan or another. She probably needed a chance to just relax and vent.

The sound of claws on stone announced that somedragon had entered their nest chamber. “Senior Wing Talon Storm?” Talon didn’t recognize the voice, but it was strong and formal.

So much for sleeping in. Talon regretfully slid out from under Tornado’s wing and stood up. Her scales were assaulted by the freezing cave air, but she forced herself to act as though it didn’t bug her and casually brushed a lock of hair out of her eyes before turning to the messenger. “Yes?”

A junior-storm fire wyvern approached and bowed. “The Requiem Guard called Providence has freed the Guard called Samhane and taken it to the eastern edge of the canyon. The rest of the Council is observing them, but the Hurricanes have ordered you to go remind Providence that Samhane is too dangerous to turn loose.”

Samhane was out of her restraints and the Hurricanes wanted Talon to go into that area. Talon groaned. It was never a good sign when the day started with orders to go on a suicide mission.

She bowed back to the messenger, wondering which Ancestor she had managed to piss off. “Tell them that I’m on my way.”

Wandering Sky stepped up next to Talon and bowed quickly. “Should I ready the Squad to go with you?”

Talon shook her head. “No. We don’t want to send the wrong message by showing up in force.” And one squadron won’t make a difference if either Guard turns hostile anyway. “Don’t wake Tornado until I’m gone.”

Sky nodded his understanding.

With that taken care of, Talon set out down the short tunnel to the outside. She paused momentarily at the cave’s mouth.

The sun was just barely peaking over the horizon, leaving the canyon covered in shades of gray. Flecks of snow and ice danced through the air, blown about by the usual howling winds. The chilled air blasted away any lingering bits of warmth from Talon’s scales.

She regretfully pushed off, flapping quickly to steady herself as she began working her way upwind to the canyon’s eastern edge.

Her flight was almost silent for a few minutes, but then a wave of blue energy exploded from the east, washing over Talon before she could even try to dive out of the way. The strange energy felt like it would melt her scales off, and it left her weak and dizzy.

That can’t be good. She forced herself to speed up, arriving at the canyon’s mouth a minute or two later. At least it was easy to find Providence on the ground, his golden armor shining red beneath the sun’s first rays. She angled herself down toward him.

“Providence?” Talon stumbled a bit as she came down to land. Her legs were still weak from that strange explosion. “What happened?”

Providence slowly turned around to face her, revealing a crumpled silver form on the ground behind him. Samhane, or what was left of her, looked like she had ripped apart from the inside. The glowing runes that normally covered her form were gone with no hint that they had ever been there. Providence was in bad shape as well. Thick gashes covered his armor, one of Samhane’s axes was still lodged in his side, and his runes had all dimmed a lot. Strangely, he wasn’t holding his war hammer. Instead, that cleaver-like dagger was held in his fist, and the glowing gemstone in its handle had cracked and gone dark.

“Are …” Talon looked at Samhane’s motionless body then back to Providence. She suddenly knew without asking what that blade had been intended for, and that it had served its purpose. “Are you going to be okay?”

“Samhane was once among our greatest protectors,” Providence said quietly. “She used to say that none of her allies were allowed to die without her permission.” He turned and knelt down, gently scooping Samhane’s body into his arms. “I know she would have given it now, to stop this monster she had become.”

“That’s why you brought her out here?” Talon asked.

“No, dragonling.” He looked off toward the glowing horizon. “I wanted to watch the sunrise with an old friend, one last time.” Then he stood up and began walking out into the frozen valley beyond the canyon. “I will return in a few hours, after the last hero of Minos has been put to rest.”

Talon watched him go for a moment, conflicting feelings burning in her chest. “There are still heroes,” she called at last.

Providence paused and looked back at her.

“I have to believe that there are still heroes,” Talon said more quietly. “I have to believe that there are dragons, ponies, and minotaurs that will help us build a better future. Otherwise,” she let out a long sigh, “otherwise, what’s the point in getting out of the nest in the morning?”

Providence stared at her for a long moment, his glowing eyes unreadable, then he nodded once. “Cling to that optimism. It is more valuable than you know.” He turned and kept walking.

Comments

[GrimmWolfDragon]

Great chapter 55
Celestia with the save, thank God. And that one point for team Celestia. LOL

[Architect Ironturtle]

You know, it's nastiness like this that made the dragons so unwilling to trust ponies in the first place.

[WeldedSteel09]

That bastard tried to continue a war that everyone wanted to stop. How thick can you get moron?

[Truthseeker]

I really hope things are winding down now, unfortunately... if I'm reading the background correctly, the Hurricanes are about to enact another horrendous atrocity.

[ArchimediesMD]

7758551 is that any different from the rest of the story?

Seriously those guys need to be nuked

[Truthseeker]

7758468 Seems pretty obvious he was completely ignorant of a great deal. In any case, he is guilty of attempted murder.

[Toa Coy]

well that ended better then I though.

[Vedues]

7758468 Please try to be polite, even if you disagree with someone.