“You IDIOTS!” Sunset screamed at the two despondent mercenaries who refused to meet their mistress’s eyes, after Sunset had teleported them to a safe and undetectable distance from the palace. They combined their magic and returned to their hideout just on the border of the badlands. As soon as they had materialized in their sanctuary, Sunset began to verbally assault her subordinates for their failed mission. “Everything was going according to plan until you let that damned guard intervene. Explain to me how you two let this happen!” She demanded, her normally icy eyes now filled with an inferno of rage.
“I apologize mistress”, Broad Blade stepped up. “I had assumed that the spell that the creature had placed on them would hold. I let my guard down and have failed you, forgive me-”. His apology was cut short as an azure aura surrounded his throat, levitating him into the air.
“Save me your apology Blade, you do not have the privilege to state your inadequacy. Only I can say that you have failed. No subordinate of mine shall confess weakness, that is my right and my right alone. Understood?” She brought the rasping mercenary close to her face and met his glazed and frightened eyes.
“Crystal clear, my mistress” Broad Blade was able to choke out. After a moment more, she released him, gasping to catch his breath on the ground below her. “At least he had the courage to admit his failures” She then turned to Iron Clad, who met her furious glare with one of his own, his horn ready to fend off whatever punishment she was about to inflict upon him. “However, you did dispose of that foal of a guard and helped to insure our escape. Therefore I will pardon your shortcoming this once” She turned away and walked towards the receding rays of sun that shined through the cave that they resided in.
Iron Clad, trotted up to his compatriot and helped him to his hooves. Broad Blade gave a grateful nod to his brother in arms, and rubbed his aching throat with his hoof. The two looked at their mistress, who was in deep meditation, presumably trying to figure out the location of the filly. After few minutes more, the two retreated farther into the cave and left the unicorn to her enchantments. Once her minions were out of earshot, Sunset Shimmer opened up her eyes but continued to cast her seeker spell. “No matter, where you run, wherever Celestia hides you, Twilight Sparkle, I will find you. And then everything that I was promised to me will finally be mine at long last”.
Turning her eyes away from the horizon, she spotted a black speck begin to approach her. She extended her hoof and allowed her Raven familiar to land, its eyes still glowing azure met with hers as she read the birds memories. After a moment, a manic grin spread across her face, she severed communication with the bird and let it fly off into the approaching twilight. “So Celestia, it appears that you’ve lost your new pet, but don’t worry. It won’t be long until she’s studying from one who truly understands the meaning of power.” With one final glance towards the horizon, she smirked and retreated into the depths of her cavernous stronghold, anticipating the approaching hunt.
*Back at Canterlot Hospital*
Celestia, sat in a waiting room, using her magic to try and locate her missing pupil, but to no avail. Placing her efforts on hold, she looked over to Twilight Velvet who was crying hysterically into her husband's forehooves. All the sun goddess could do was look away from the grieving parents of her protege and reflect on what had happened over the last few hours…
When Celestia had returned into the study after Sunset shimmer had escaped, what she saw shocker her. In front of her lay the broken body of Shining Armor, one of the youngest officers to be recruited into the Canterlot Royal Guard. His armor lay shattered around him, his back, clearly broken in half where the war hammer had crashed into him. A sizable pool of blood had collected around his mouth, and raspy, shallow breaths were barely audible over the crackling and crunching of what remained of his lungs. Pushing back the urge to wretch right then and there, Celestia surrounded the wounded soldier in a stasis field of magic, and immediately teleported Shining, herself, and the other guards.
The ponies in the ER shielded their eyes from a blinding light that seemed come out of nowhere. However, what truly left them dumbfounded was when they saw their ruler appear out of thin air, carrying a clearly wounded stallion, and surrounded by three other guards. “Please, my guard is dying and needs medical attention! Is there a doctor here who can help him?” The princess called out frantically.
Immediately two, paramedics rushed in and allowed the princess to lay Shining Armor down on the stretcher that they had brought with them. They rolled him as fast as possible to the ICU as a series of doctors, nurses and staff followed to stabilize him and prepare him for emergency surgery. As soon as Shining had left her sight, Celestia turned to one of the pegasus guards that were with her. “Fly as fast as you can to the Sparkle residence, and inform Twilight Sparkle and Shining Armor’s parents of the situation, and bring them here as soon as possible”, the Princess ordered. The guard gave a sharp salute and took off without another word.
She had done all that she could for Shining Armor, now she had to focus on locating Twilight. To the two remaining guards that stood at ready, she ordered them to begin preparations to organize as many search and rescue parties as her reserves could allow. They also saluted and took off to begin as their princess had ordered. All she could do now was wait for Twilight’s parents to arrive, and pray that her student was safe, wherever she may have disappeared. Once she was sure that she had done all she could do, Celestia found her way to the waiting area in the surgery ward. After soundproofing the room, she broke down and wept, because for the first time in nearly a millennia, she did not know what to do...
“Why?” Celestia’s ears moved towards the origin of the question and saw Twilight Velvet begin to slowly remove herself from her husband’s embrace. “Why would someone want to take my little girl away? And why did shining have to be there, of all places? And why aren’t you doing everything in your power to bring my baby home?” Twilight Velvet was now screaming as fresh tears streamed down her face, and she stared up at her monarch with a mixture of terror, anguish, and rage. After a few moments more, the despondent mother finally broke down and collapsed into Celestia embrace. Twilight Velvet let a new stream of tears flow, as the princess rubbed her back calmingly. When Twilight velvet looked up, she saw that their were tears in the Princess's eyes and immediately looked away ashamed.
Celestia lifted the mares chin up to meet her anxious eyes with her hoof. “I’m Sorry, Mrs. Velvet. This should never have been allowed to occur, and I’m afraid that all of it is because of me”. It was now Celestia’s turn to look away with shame as she turned her back on Twilight Velvet and looked through the window of the door that led to the operating room where Shining was now in his sixth hour of surgery.
“Tell me Princess, am I going to lose both of my children?” Night Light had by this point gotten up from his chair and reunited with his wife, holding her close to calm her.
Celestia took a deep breath, and finally turned back around to meet the anxious and awaiting looks of the parents. “If it is within my power, Twilight, then you will lose neither of your children. To answer your questions, the reason your son was on duty with Twilight and I was because he had requested to be one of her personal guards. I had to deny his request due to his lack of experience, however, I thought it would lighten his spirits to be able to stand guard during her lessons while he continued his training. I had no way of foreseeing this attack, but believe me when I tell you that there is not a single resource I am not employing to find your daughter. And I assure you that my personal doctors are doing everything they can to save Shining Armors life”.
Twilight and Night Light, seemed to be a little more at ease with their first question having been answered. “But Princess”, Twilight asked, “I just don't understand why this occurred”.
Celestia bowed her head, letting her hair obstruct her vision, not wanting to make eye contact with either or the unicorns. “The reason this all occurred is because of a promise I broke, many years ago. And now it has come back for retribution”. Twilight and Night Light sat down, knowing that the princess would need time to explain everything.
Celestia sat down across from them, and when she was ready, she reared her head as the guilt and sadness from all of the years finally appeared on her immortal face. “First, I must tell you that though your daughter is the strongest disciple I have taken on, she is not the first. The true reason I started the School for Gifted Unicorns was because I was looking for somepony. A Unicorn meant to fulfill a destiny that has been in place since before even I was born. Since the school’s founding, I have taught many proteges gifted in magic, however, despite their accomplishments and power, they all lacked the single most important element that would have allowed them to fulfill this destiny. With one of those students however, I placed far too much faith in. They discovered what I had been training them for before they were ready. And because of my failure as a teacher, they used a forbidden art to try and accelerate their studies to gain more power. Now in their anger and misguidance, they believe that they still have a chance at attaining that destiny, and that your daughter is the key to their success. This is the story of how I lost one of my most prized pupils, Sunset Shimmer.
*Nightime in the Everfree Forest*
The sleeping filly’s ears swiveled in the toward the sound of a twig breaking. Her eyes responded soon afterwards to the stimulus, snapping open quickly despite the glazed over look of lethargy that remained in the violet irises. Finally she lifted her head off of her soft saddlebags, yawning deeply before taking in her environment. To her dismay, she was still in the dark scary forest, only now it was darker and scarier. Her ears pivoted towards the direction of another snapping twig, and fear began to take hold of her again.
Her small form trembled as she began to identify additional sounds in the surrounding environment; growls, screeches and moans that were alien and terrifying to the young filly. Her blood ran chill however, when she heard a low growl come from behind her. Slowly, she turned around and was met with three pairs of glowing yellow eyes just beyond the darkness of the tree line. A foul smell emanated from their direction as they began to encroach upon the helpless unicorn. Slowly, twilight placed her saddlebags on her back and backed away from the approaching creatures. The creatures continued their advance and finally came into full view in the clearing.
Two medium sized timber-wolves followed their much larger leader, with their fangs bared and their bodies crouched and ready to pounce. Twilight was petrified in place until the largest of the small pack lunged at her, in which her only defense was a blood curdling scream. Her instincts kicked in as she barely dodged out of the oncoming fangs and claws, vexing the arborous lupine as it turned around, snarling at its elusive prey. Twilight didn’t give it the chance for another attack as she ran as fast as her small legs could carry her. She ran in no particular direction, only hoping to lose her pursuers amongst the dense foliage, however her ears were able to detect the timber-wolves rapidly gaining on her.
In a feeble attempt to slow down her attackers, Twilight used her limited magic to tangle the vines and branches behind her as she ran, which seemed to work for a time, until she began to hear the other two wolves begin to close in on either side of her. Twilight lit her horn up attempting to teleport herself away, however before the spell could be cast, her mana fizzled and faded away, only causing her to become more tired from the exertion. Her hoof hit a root and she felt a sharp pain arise as her momentum caused her to tumble forward. Getting up, she pushed through the pain and continued to run. However, the pain dulled her senses and judgement, and she skidded to a stop as a 10 foot wall of soil and rock loomed in front of her. Panicked she ran limping to the left, parallel to the barrier hoping to find a route of escape. She was halted abruptly however as one of the medium timber-wolves cut her off from any route of escape. Turning around, she attempted to flee in the opposite direction but was again greeted by the dripping fangs and glowing eyes of the other timber-wolf.
They slowly pushed her back until she felt her hindquarters come in contact with the rocky barricade. The two wolves growled and snapped at her, keeping her in place and denying her any means of escape. From the shadows, the alpha approached, slowly and deliberately. The little filly’s heart was racing and tears cascade down her face as the malevolent creature looked down on her with its predatory eyes. She reached behind her and ripped a small root out of the ground with her good hoof, and in a final attempt of resistance, threw it at the timber-wolf. The creature barely flinched as the light twig bounced harmlessly off its snout and with an annoyed growl, closed the last few feet between it and the filly. Twilight tried to push herself as far away as physically possible as the snarling lupine brought its maw within a hairs width from her, however the wall behind held her in place. Her panicked breathing gave way to terrified sobs, and as the warm foul breath fell upon her, all Twilight could do was close her tear filled eyes and brace for what was yet to come.
Thoughts of her family flashed before her, in a mere instant. Her brother teaching her how to fly a kite for the very first time. Her father reading her favorite story before bed. Her mother singing a lullaby and holding her in her hooves as a storm raged outside. And finally, her mentor’s smiling face as they sat by the fire and learned of Equestria’s history. Though she was still crying, twilight managed a faint smile as she held onto those final memories. She felt the wolf draw back its head growling lowly as it prepared for the kill. Finally, she heard leaves rustle as it gave out a loud snarl and it lunged, then all twilight felt was warmth. But that warmth became hotter and hotter, and a bright light seared through her eyelids.
All she could do was turn her face away from the blinding light and searing heat. The intense heat died down and a fearsome roar immediately followed its absence. Twilight opened her eyes, and looked forward. Where once the ferocious predator stood, only ashes and glowing charcoal remained. She noticed the other two timber-wolves looking above her, growling defensively with their tails between their legs. Her eye followed to where they were looking and she gasped in terror and awe. A large, dark silhouette jumped down from the cliff between the young filly and the cowering timber-wolves. Two leathery wings were spread apart in a defensive position and a deep, rumbling growl could be heard from the interceptor.
It roared a final warning and the two timber-wolves ran off whimpering into the forest. The creature snorted a puff of smoke at the retreating forms of the wolves. Once it was sure that they were gone, its body relaxed and it turned around to look at Twilight. Two emerald green eyes glowed at her with concern and intrigue.However, a look of recognition flashed across its eyes for an instant and the concern was replaced with a bitter and distrustful gaze. It glared at the filly for a few seconds more, then with a final snarl, it pounced away and disappeared into the darkness.
Twilight could only look on in shock, however, the pain in her hoof was able to bring her back to reality. She was alive, she was scared and hurt but alive. All at once, terror, pain, relief, joy and sadness hit her simultaneously and she cried out loudly into the night. After her outburst, she collapsed onto the ground in a trembling heap and began to sob into her hooves as the all of her emotions warred inside in a stalemate. After several hours, her breathing became more steady and exhaustion overcame her. She curled into the wall behind her, nursing her injured hoof and fell into a deep sleep. Off in the distance, the creature that had saved the young filly observed her from the shadows as he too dealt with warring emotions within himself.