As Fluttershy and I dash for the wall-hole that Pinkie...created...earlier, I have the foresight to throw a shield up behind us, just in case. It's a good decision, because nearly as soon as we escape from the Citadel proper, there's a huge sizzling sound and the air shreds with an explosion of phantasmal fire, the shockwave blowing apart pretty much the rest of the structure. Colossal marble boulders smash themselves to gravel against the shield. Though it peters out pretty much immediately, it serves its purpose, getting us through the first barrage of stone.
The blaze of manalight quickly gives way to shrieking bolts of purple lightning that splash around us. I have to slow down slightly for Fluttershy (I'm just going to call her Flit from this point, it's less of a mouthful), and my teeth spasm together as one of the bolts sears against the ground next to us, spiking a searing flash of pain through my horn. In the distance, I can hear rumbling as the pipelines of manalight that connect the city explode in tandem, spreading the ruin far beyond the Citadel.
Flit suddenly stops, eyes going wide. "Rainbow!" she shrieks, before reversing in a turn of speed that I wish she'd displayed when running away from the castle, screaming out Rainbow's name again, and dashes headlong back to the cataclysmic scene. [1] I try to drag her back, but the magical feedback from all the wild magic exploding into the air is interfering with my telekinesis. I manage to get a weak grip on her tail, but it's not enough to actually do anything. Ignoring my warnings, she vanishes into the roiling wave of dust and ash on its way towards us. Grimacing, I conjure up a magical air filter and another shield.
Wait.
Magical feedback. No filter. No shield.
This is going to suck an infinite amount on SO MANY LEVELS.
And that right there is my last thought before the cloud strikes.
The debris smacks me backwards so hard that it's a wonder I don't fall over before rolling over me with tremendous heat, and I find myself wondering in a detached sort of way exactly how Flit managed to just run into it. The sheer impact should've knocked her unconscious if it struck her headfirst like that, and even if it didn't, pegasi are lightweight. She should've been sent flying. Then I unthinkingly open my eyes, and all thoughts of anything else flicker away. The pain of the superheated particles on my corneas probably isn't the most painful thing that's ever happened to me, but, well, it comes close. Definitely top ten, and probably top five. Heck, maybe even top three!
Howling in pain and clutching at my scorching eyes, I teeter for a moment before falling flat. As I arch my back and try desperately to rub the gritty shards of what seems to be pure pain out, I don't think of Flit. I don't think of Rainbow. I don't think of Celestia or Luna or Trixie or Pinkie. Literally the only thing going through my head is ohskygetitoutgetitoutisweartocelestiagetitOUT. [2]
I'm not entirely sure how long I lie there, choking on the air and screaming my throat raw as ashy froth bubbles out of my now-horribly dry mouth. Eventually, though, the hot ash on the wind dies away and I realize that I'm actually breathing air now instead of ash, dust and tiny flakes of marble. Or, in other words, I can breathe without feeling like somepony is using my trachea as a funnel to pour red-hot sand.
Still hissing in pain, I manage to curl in on myself, hooves still clenched over eyes that bleed rivers of tears out from under the lids. The fur on my cheeks is crusted to my skin by trails of dried ash and saliva. Collecting my thoughts into a fragile ball of coherency, I realize how utterly destroyed the aether in this place is. Remember when I was back in the old Canterlot castle and it was taking too long for my magic to recharge because there were holes torn in the aether?
There is no aether.
The cataclysmic eruption of pure magic has completely shredded the fabric of magic for a good few miles in every direction. It's going to be a long time before I can use magic, which is going to make going into the unstable wreck of a castle to locate the two pegasi even more difficult. Seeing what this did to the Gold District, I'm not sure I even want to see what the Tin District right now. [3]
---
[1]: Yes. Run towards the IMMINENT MAGICAL DEATH.
[2]: Not entirely sure why I still invoke Celestia's name. Long-ingrained habit, I guess.
[3]: Spoiler alert: most of it was completely destroyed. We never intended for that kinda of magical fallout.
---
Ever try to read fine print when you have tears in your eyes?
That's basically what it feels like just walking right now.
I barely have vision at the point. While I'm not focusing on it at the moment, that's cause for pretty great concern. I'm not sure how I'm supposed to fight a war if I'm, for all intents and purposes, completely blind. Seems like it would be inconvenient. It certainly is right now. Through the miasma of particles still hanging through the air and the green glow of manalight, it's going to be pretty difficult to find a pair of ponies that are, in all likelihood, partially or entirely covered in debris.
Stumbling around like a drunkard, I swear as I end up tripping on a small piece of metal and going facedown. Groaning, I look up, and it's then when I notice something interesting: even with my screwed-up eyes, I can still catch the dim pink glow emanating from beneath a pile of nearby rubble. A surge of alien magic pulses around me and I gasp in a breath involuntarily. There's no way to cast magic here. What's going on?
Then, just as soon as I saw it, the glow vanishes, and with it goes the magic. Scrambling clumsily over to the debris, I scratch at it with my hooves until I reveal...
Rainbow. And Flit. [1] And as far as I can tell, both are fine. Not a scratch or bruise between them, despite the fact that they're lying underneath a pile of rocks. How is this possible?
As I sit there agape, Rainbow shifts for a moment, then rises. I can only assume that her eyes open, because there's a sharp intake of breath followed by speech: "...Wow, Sparkle, you look like Tartarus." A blue blotch that I'm pretty sure is a hoof waves in front of my muzzle, startling me backwards. Then it retracts back into the obscurity of colors.
I hear Dash's voice again: "So, question time. How am I alive right now? The last thing I remember is a wall falling down on me, then a pink glow, and now I'm waking up here. What gives?"
The yellow and pink mound of fur moves and uncurls itself. Looks like Flit is conscious too. "...I think Twilight saved us. I jumped on top of you, but I can't do much. She must have put a shield around us." She dips her head to me. I think. "Thank you."
I try to speak, but mostly end up gagging and coughing for the next five minutes or so. When I finally let the words out, they're raspy and hoarse as I look up towards the sky, thinking. "Much as I love getting credit, wasn't me. There's so much magical feedback here I don't think even pegasus magic would work. There's definitely more than enough to make it impossible to cast a barrier. Whatever happened, I think it was one of you two." Out of the corner of my eye, I notice something flashing with light in Flit's direction, but by the time I've turned my head, whatever it was is gone.
It's then that Dash actually looks for the first time at what's around us. I can't see it, but I'm familiar with what magic can do, and what comes out of her mouth is absolutely right: "Wow. I guess we did our job."
I chuckle despite everything. "Rainbow, this was so overkill it was like killing an ant with a Solar Effigy."
She doesn't return the laugh. Something is actually serious. "Sparkle, what in Tartarus did we just do? Take a look around!"
I scrape my hoof at the ground. "Actually, about that...got some ash in my eye, can't see so great right now. What's wrong?"
"Everything is wrong, Twilight!" she spits. Well, she used my actual name, so that's definitely cause for concern. She's never done that before, even in the Chasmlands. "Half of the city is leveled!"
Then there's a clip-clop sound beside us, and Rainbow's mouth shuts instantly. Turning, all I can see is a white shape to know what caused Dash to shut it, but that's all I need to see. I raise my head proudly. Even if she kills me here, I did what I came to do. Luna will win the war. That's all I need.[2]
Only then do I realize that she isn't trying to kill me. Actually, her head is dropped pretty far down. Though my ears are ringing slightly from the explosion, I can still hear her whisper. Unfortunately, I can't tell exactly what she said, just that she said it. The white blob turns to me, and her voice isn't angry at all, surprisingly enough. No, it's...unfathomably sad. I've never heard it like that before. She simply repeats what she said louder. "Was it worth it, Twilight?"
Well, chalk up another of the firsts. I don't think she's ever called me Twilight before. It's always been "Ms. Sparkle," or "Ms. Twilight," but never just Twilight. The prismatic blur that is her mane wavers for a moment, and her head comes up proudly. "Well? Was it? How many died here today, Twilight?" Her eyes are glowing slightly, furious gold burning behind them. "You dared to challenge me on my Effigies. Though I was displeased with your defiance, I at least admired your conviction. You knew what you believed in."
More clip-clop, and she draws closer to me. As she moves into my field of decent vision, I jolt, taken aback: I don't think I've ever seen Celestia wounded. Her normally-pristine white coat is covered in what look like electrical burns, and a deep gash runs beneath her right eye.
"What are you fighting for now, Twilight?" Her gaze sweeps across us. I can practically hear Rainbow stiffening off to the side, and there's a whisper of air as a yellow blur—Flit, obviously—flutters her way to Celestia's side.
"Think on what you did here, Twilight. What did you hope to accomplish?"
I open my mouth to answer before being immediately hushed. "Shh. It was a rhetorical question."
Just as well; I'm not altogether sure myself. The idea was to destroy the Citadel so Celestia's base of operations would be shut down, but the explosives that Luna sent with Pinkie through the portal to us were insanely gratuitous.
There's a sound of rushing wind as the air splits and distorts around her, and then she's gone.
What have I done?
---
[1]: Or rather, Blue Semi-equine Shape and Yellow Semi-equine Shape. My eyes weren't working...extraordinarily well, to say the least.
[2]: To this day, I have no idea why we didn't notice her approach. She can be surprisingly stealthy when she wants.