//------------------------------// // Part 1: Chapter 15 // Story: Broken then Healed 2 // by Tohshi //------------------------------// Chapter 15: The End of an Era “I told you to never mess with my garden,” Celestia said.  Her mane started to burn like a pyre.  “And you Lilac.  You will tell me what I want to know or I will pry it from your corpse.” “Sunbutt, you are really this far gone,” Discord said his voice seemed cold and harsh.  “I had dreams of breaking you but not like this and not any more.  If you continue on this path you are going to hurt the ponies I care about.  I won’t allow that.” “What can you do to stop me?” scoffed Celestia.  “I know that multiple exposures to the Elements of Harmony have weakened you.  It was a momentary lapse in judgement when I had you freed.  Now though I think that instead of making you into stone, a pile of ashes will work well.” Celestia’s horn lit up with intense and powerful magic.  Seconds later she fired a beam of fiery energy straight at us.  Before I could even blink we had shifted positions and the beam that had been headed our way instead just incinerated all of discord’s plant army.  Celestia lit her horn up once more and I braced for another beam of light to come our direction.  It never did.  Instead a pulse of magic blew past us.  There was a strange sensation and I felt like I had just been tied up. “There will be no escape for you,” said Celestia.  Her eyes had grown blood red and glowed with power.  Her horn lit up once more and this time there would be no escaping the beam. Snap.  Four statues near Celestia tackled her and Discord kept snapping his fingers sending more and more of them till all the statues had tackled her.  Not wanting to waste the moment.  I pushed Nympha and Annabelle, in the wheelchair, away from Celestia.  It wasn’t much but maybe we could escape whatever it was preventing us from teleporting. There was a large explosion and chunks of statue were flung in every direction.  We would have been crushed if not for Annabelle’s timely shield.  I was momentarily impressed with the bubble around us.  How she was pulling it off was beyond me but I bet that my own come to life spells would be the same for her. “Even you stand against me Annabelle,” said Celestia.  “I had hopes for you.  Even if you were broken.  Oh well there will be more in time.” Her horn lit up and a beam of plasma shot our way.  I prayed that Annabelle’s shield would hold and cursed myself for not picking up shield spells with Twilight.  However the beam never hit us and instead a large reverberation of a metal plate that was reminiscent of a gong filled the air.  Discord stood between us and Celestia with just that, a giant metal gong which was starting to melt. “Sunbutt, this is between you and me,” Discord said.  “No point in dragging the kids in on this.” “Their fate is sealed,” said Celestia.  “All those who stand in the way of order will be purged.” “Sister, please don’t go down this path,” shouted Luna as she walked out into the garden from the castle.  “I have been there.  I understand but please don’t become the same kind of nightmare as I was.” “Hmph,” snorted Celestia.  “You were weak.  You are weak.  Stay there while I deal with these miscreants.  Then we can decide your place in my order.” Celestia’s horn lit up as she gave a death glare in our direction.  Nympha was burying her head in my shoulder and Annabelle seemed likewise frightened.  I summoned my magic.  I wouldn’t just sit still while she blasted us into oblivion.  Thankfully I didn’t have to do anything.  A indigo beam of magic struck Celestia.  It engulfed her and then wrapped around her.  Luna’s magic tried to engulf Celestia.  An opaque sphere of Luna’s magic formed where Celestia once stood. Cracks started to form on the sphere and a moment later the whole thing exploded.  A beam of plasma shot out from the explosion to where Luna had been once before.  Luna barely had the time to pull up a shield but it didn’t block the whole beam and much of it leaked or blasted around Luna’s shield.  The castle did not withstand the blast.  Screams of agony could be heard in the distance. My magic was almost gathered.  I called for help and was answered.  I didn’t know where the materials came from but I knight burst from the ground.  They were wearing a full plate that covered the golem from head to toe.  The whole thing was fifteen feet tall and dwarfed even Celestia.  The knight drew their sword and shield and stood at ready between us and Celestia.  I could feel the drain of magic hit me but the warmth of Nympha’s magic poured into me and I focused on that to replenish my reserves.  Working together I seemed to stave off the effects of massive magic use. “All of you will burn,” shouted Celestia.  Her horn started to glow with power once more and it was still growing.  “No more shall you upset my order.” Celestia’s spell hit before Discord or Luna could manage to do anything about it.  A rapidly growing ball of plasma expanded out from her horn.  In less than a second it had engulfed Celestia.  A second after that it exploded outwards  For a moment the Knight’s metallic shield seemed to hold against the onslaught but that didn’t last.  The wave of fire hit Annabelle’s shield and I braced for the end.  Again it didn’t come as Annabelle’s shield seemed to absorb and grow from the display of magic.  Still there were signs of strain in Annabelle’s eyes. Eventually the flames died down.  Much of the close by castle had been obliterated as had all of the gardens.  Thankfully it seemed that only a few layers into the castle had been destroyed.  Discord had burning birds rotating around his head and Luna looked scorched and her shield was nowhere to be seen.  However the worst off for wear seemed to be Celestia as she sat there panting.  Maybe with her exhausted this fight would end.  All hopes of that were crushed when Celestia’s horn lit up once more.  A small nearly invisible beam of light shot out of Celestia’s horn and towards the sun.  It took  a while to connect but as soon as it did a burst of solar energy ran along Celestia’s magic and slammed into her.  It was reminiscent of the pictures of a solar flare.  The beam seemed to refresh Celestia and she only seemed more powerful for it. Luna shot her own small beam of magic and it hit the moon.  She shouted, “You aren’t the only one empowered by their charge.  The moon fills me with its power.” “It won’t be enough,” said Celestia. Blasts of magic were traded between the two of them Luna’s were always careful to not hit anything other than the ground or an already destroyed bit of the castle grounds.  Celestia’s had no such concern.  I was growing increasingly worried for everyone in the castle.  My Knight had somehow managed to survive the large blast but not without injuries.  Their shield was a twisted mess and they had losts their sword.  But they still stood guard between Celestia and us. Discord would trip up Celestia at every chance he got sometimes by making the ground into an oil slick and others by flinging rocks at her.  Still he seemed out of his league with this fight and he mostly did his best to run interference with Celestia’s errant beams.  I was pretty certain there were a number of ponies who owed him their lives now. Twilight came running out of the ruins of the castle.  Pain covered every inch of her face and I could tell that whatever horrors that lie in the castle were taking their toll on Twilight.  As she gazed on Celestia her face turned to iron and it surprised me how quickly she steeled herself for a fight against her mentor. “Celestia,” shouted Twilight.  There must have been magic in her voice as it didn’t sound like it was just coming from her but all places at once.  Never had anything shook me to my core like Twilight’s shout.  “End this meaningless destruction.  Don’t make me fight you.  I love you.  Please.” Celestia paused for a moment at Twilight’s plea.  There was sorrow on her face but it didn’t stay there for long.  Her horn lit up and a beam of energy shot right for Twilight.  Twilight disappeared from where she was standing only to appear behind Celestia. “So be it,” said Twilight.  Her voice was filled with her iron will and a sadness that I could only imagine the depths of.  A beam of pure mana shot from Twilight’s horn slamming Celestia into the ground.  “I won’t let you hurt another pony.” Celestia started to get back up from the ground her horn charged with magic again.  But Twilight wasn’t where she had been once more and once more appearing in Celestia’s blind spot Twilight slammed her into the ground.  It was frightening to see the amount of power she was wielding as if it was nothing.  I couldn’t figure out how she was teleporting though. I pulled on my own magic and tried to teleport a few feet from where I was while remaining in Annabelle’s shield but the spell fizzled every time I tried.  Either Twilight was powerful enough to ignore what ever was keeping us anchored here or she was doing something else. Luna landed near us and hide behind the Annabelle’s shield.  Initially she looked worn ragged but in a few seconds she seemed completely refreshed.  Her eyes were filled with sorrow.  Her horn glowed a deep dark indigo and she stood there for a while. Twilight seemed to be able to counter everything that Celestia was doing but each time I could start to see strain on her.  What ever she was doing it was hurting her more than anything Celestia had done.  Slowly magical circles started popping up around Celestia as Twilight kept her stuck in the crater that was the gardens.  The circles were clearly of Twilight’s making and I couldn’t tell what sort of magic she was doing but from what I could see of a nearby circle it was some sort of binding spell.  One that was more complex than I had thought a spell could be.  Twilight’s preparation seemed complete when she appeared ten or so meters away from Celestia. “I’m sorry,” said Twilight.  Her horn glowed with the brightest light I had ever seen and she rose up into the air floating from the magic she was channeling.  Chains of magical light shot out of the various circles that surrounded Celestia.  They wrapped themselves around Celestia and pulled her to the ground once more.  Celestia shot smaller beams of energy at each of them but they held fast.  A bright beam of light shot from Twilight’s horn and engulfed Celestia a magical sphere of light bubbled Celestia and Twilight slumped to the ground. Discord floated over to her and held her up.  He was staring at the bubble of Twilight’s making.  He wasn’t relaxing though.  He said, “Luna hurry.  This will only hold her for another couple of minutes and when it breaks we want to have as many ponies away from here as possible.” “I can set up more barriers,” Twilight said pushing herself to her hooves. “No we need your magic to get them to safety,” said Discord.  “I can’t get them all by myself.” “Thirty more seconds,” shouted Luna her horn was still glowing but a ball of her magic.  “I almost there on breaking the dimensional anchor on Canterlot.  Then we can teleport out of here.  Twilight, I understand that you did what you had to but no more time manipulation please.  It can have some disastrous effects on both the user and the area around them.” “I didn’t have a choice,” Twilight said.  “If I have to do that to save Lilac again I will.” “Fair enough,” said Luna.  “Let us hope you don’t have to.” Luna’s spell seemed complete and it pulsed outwards like the anchor that Celestia had cast earlier.  I felt lighter and I knew we were free.  Twilight walked over to us and her horn charged with mana. “Lilac I am going send you about four kilometers out of Canterlot which is about as far as I can without exerting myself too much.  Take care of Annabelle and Nympha.  I am going to stay here and find more ponies to teleport out of here.  Expect company,” said Twilight. “I’ll send any I find to the same spot,” Discord said. With a pop we ended up in an open field near Canterlot.  There was the Canterlot forest not to far from us and I knew we were probably safe now.  I turned to check on Annabelle and Nympha both of whom were not taking the teleportation as well as I was.  Annabelle had lost her breakfast and Nympha was looking green despite her disguise.  I wish I could relax but without knowing how Bon Bon and Lyra were doing I couldn’t.  Images of their mangled burnt bodies kept running in my head and now that we were out of immediate danger the adrenaline was fading.  I wasn’t going to be able to hold it together well for long.  Thankfully I didn’t have to as Nympha again started to pour love into me. I tried to center myself and found it much easier with Nympha’s help.  I focused on my magic and started to force it to repair the remaining damage to my legs.  It was painful work but Nympha’s magic helped greatly.  Soon enough my legs were looking back to normal.  They were a bit sore but I wasn’t going to complain about that. A moment later a group of disheveled ponies appeared out of nowhere with a pop.  They looked frightened and huddled together a few feet from us.  It wasn’t long before more and more started to appear.  Soon there were hundreds of ponies in the field.  Not all of them were in great condition.  A couple looked like a blast had hit near them and at least one had been hit by a glancing blow.  Thankfully one of the crowd was a unicorn doctor and he set about organizing taking care of the injured.  It only grew worse though.  The fighting had resumed though this time only between Luna and Celestia or at least that was all I could see from this distance.  The bright flashes of Celestia’s beams and the indigo ones of Luna.  It must have felt like the end of times for many of the ponies around us to sit in shocked silence watching their two beloved princesses duke it out. Eventually the silence wore off as the ponies started to freak out.  Thankfully none of them had noticed Annabelle yet outside of a few glances of pity at her in the wheelchair.  I didn’t want them looking to Annabelle for answers and guidance.  She may be an alicorn but she wasn’t an adult and knew little to nothing of this world. “Nightmare Moon is back,” shouted one of the nearby stallions.  He was average in a lot of ways for a pony and his somewhat drab coat matched his boring wrench cutie mark.  Which was one of the most simple ones I had seen.  “I knew that letting that monster back into the castle would be bad.  Look at how many of us she has hurt and killed this time.  Thank Celestia that she is there to fight her off.” I turned to the jerk who was spouting off about things that he knew nothing off.  My anger was a bit over the top but I wasn’t going to stand by while Luna was badmouthed.  She had done nothing wrong and I wouldn’t let her take the fall for Chrysalis and Celestia misdeeds.  Gathering my magic I teleported to over in front of him. “That isn’t Luna,” I said.  “Celestia is the one who did this.  Celestia is the one who has turned into a monster.” “There is no way,” the stallion said.  He looked pissed beyond measure.  “Don’t fucking lie about her.  Celestia is the heart of Equestria.  She loves us all.  There is nothing that could make her do this.” “I am not lying and I won’t tolerate you bad mouthing Luna.  I was there,” I shouted.  “I was there when she shot the first blast and the next and countless after that.  I was right there in the center of it all as Celestia tried to kill me.” “Really you were in the castle.  And I am Discord himself,” said the stallion.  “Quit lying filly.  Or somepony is going to get hurt.” Nympha ran over and placed herself between me and the stallion.  He had grown dangerously mad but so had I.  I wasn’t certain why I was so pissed.  But I wouldn’t let this stand.  I reached for my magic and plucked the guy from the ground.  While holding him I summoned a smaller golem of rock and dirt.  It was only two meters tall and towered over most ponies here.  Hopping onto its back I pulled him close. “I am daughter of Twilight Sparkle, Element of Harmony, Princess of Equestria and Magic, and you will not bad mouth Luna.  She has done so much for you even in the four years that she has been back.  Now shut up and be quiet,” I shouted.  I tossed the poor stallion to the ground and turned to look back at the fight.  “Golem take us back over to Annabelle.” It listened and the three of us joined Annabelle with most of the ponies around us giving us a wide berth.  More and more ponies joined us in the field till there was thousands of them.  It was starting to slow which wasn’t a good sign as the fighting had grown more bright and flashy which could only mean that many more had died.  My emotions were getting more and more out of control.  Something was wrong with me and I couldn’t tell what. “Lilac,” Nympha said.  She had climbed up the golem and was sitting on its other shoulder.  “I feel other changelings.  Mama is coming.” “Is that what is messing with my emotions?”  I asked. I looked around and noticed that most of the ponies around us were either on the verge of panicking or were actively doing so.  This was bad I could protect Annabelle and Nympha from the crowd if things got ugly but I didn’t think I would be able to get away with that without hurting somepony.  I tried to center myself but it wasn’t working.  Around us ponies started to faint at a startling rate.  Nympha and I jumped down from our perch and huddled up next to Annabelle who seemed to be having her own issues.  Nympha’s magic poured into me, chasing away the madness that had overcome me, and from the looks of it Annabelle was receiving the same aid. Changelings without disguises started to pour out of the forest.  More than I had imagined possible.  They were markedly different from Nympha.  Instead of pupiled eyes theirs were void and just seemed to glow slightly blue.  There was a hunger to their movement and actions as they started to round up the remaining ponies who hadn’t passed out.  Any that came near us seemed to jolt for a second and then stop and formed a circle around us. “How many of them can you control?” I asked.  “I don’t like our chances against this many.” “Not enough,” Nympha said.  There was something immediately noticeable about her speech.  Gone was the choppiness and now a master sort of flowed where her youth once was.  “I approximate about fifty or so is all I can control and if Mother fights me I am only confident in maybe twenty or so.  She is representing them.  Most of them are willing to join me but they can’t fight Mother.  At least not on their own.  Her control is too strong.” “Yes it is,” Chrysalis said.  She strode out of the forest with an entourage of beefy changelings.  “You have done well for yourself in such a short amount of time.  Now come join me by my side.  It is your rightful place.” “My rightful place is between you and these ponies, Mother,” said Nympha.  “I have a family now.  They love me in ways that you can’t possibly begin to understand.  I have felt true love.  It isn’t something you can take.  Please stop this madness, Mother.” “When I am about to win,” Chrysalis laughed.  “I think all that feeding has made your mind weak and foggy.  Oh well.  I have no use for a tool that doesn’t obey.” The changelings around Chrysalis sprung forward ramming into the ones that Nympha had taken from her.  The two groups of changelings fought but it was clear that Chrysalis had the upper hand.  For every one of the beefy guards that Nympha’s group fell they lost five of their own.  Soon there was nothing standing between us and Chrysalis.  Outside of my Golem of course. “Protect us, Golem,” I said.  I charged my horn ready to shoot any changeling that got too close.  I was thankful that Twilight hadn’t told me no for learning basic blasts a month or two back.  “Nympha protect Annabelle.  Annabelle if you have it in you another shield would be great about now.” “I’ll try,” Annabelle said.  Her horn sparked with magic and in a few moments a shield started to form around us.  “I don’t know if I can do this long.  I am too tired.” “Hold it for as long as you can,” I said. “Such silly foals,” Chrysalis said.  “You think you can withstand me.  I have grown powerful off the love that Celestia has so graciously let us harvest.  I could take even Celestia now.  You are but worms to me.” “I won’t let you hurt them, Mother,” said Nympha. “You have no choice,” Chrysalis said. Her horn lit up with magic that was sickly green in color.  A blast of her own shot at our shield.  As it had earlier the shield only seemed to grow stronger but I could see the toll it was taking on Annabelle.  This wouldn't last for long.  My brain was wracking for answers and I seemed out of them.  My golem wouldn’t survive more than one blast like that and I knew my own blasts would not suffice to break any shield that Chrysalis erected.  If only I had more magic.  And then it hit me.  I could do the very thing that Luna had warned me against.  It felt like I was breaking Luna’s rule for this but I couldn’t let Nympha die and Annabelle fall into Chrysalis’ clutches. I whispered into Nympha’s ear, “I have a plan but I need to make contact with Chrysalis’ horn.  Do you know anything to hold her for even just a few moments?” “I don’t know I can try,” Nympha said.  “With help maybe.” “Okay,” I said. I focused on my magic.  I would need more than one golem to pull this off.  I just hoped that I had enough magic.  Pulling my mana forward, I imagined four golems grabbing Chrysalis’ legs and holding her down low.  I poured my magic into that image.  And released.  It worked at least in part.  Four sets of arms burst from the ground and grabbed onto Chrysalis.  They yanked on her legs and she faltered for a second. “Drop the shield,” I shouted.  “Now.” The shield fell and the golem myself and Nympha shot towards Chrysalis.  Other changelings tried to get in our way only to be halted by Nympha.  She couldn’t turn them against her mother but she could paralyze them for long enough for us to get through.  The golem punched Chrysalis in the chest and tried to push her further towards the ground.  Chrysalis’ horn was glowing with magic and a quick blast hit the golem blasting off a decent chunk of it, including one arm.  Nympha’s magic shot forward and a shield of her own expanded behind Chrysalis forcing her down.  Chrysalis’ was preparing another beam when I jumped and touched her horn with mine thanks to some help from my magic. I pulled.  Like I had never before.  Chrysalis had almost as much magic as Luna and for a second the thought of her beating the enraged Celestia was laughable.  I didn’t linger on that thought though as I yanking as much of her magic from her as I could.  She started to resist but her response was more magic making it easier for me to latch onto it.  I was in crazy amounts of pain but it felt distant.  I wasn’t certain but I thought that Nympha must be that reason.  I ignored the pain though and kept pulling and converting as much as I could.  As I gained ground I picked up speed.  Things were working better than they ever had before.  Better than I had any right in doing.  I touched something that I hadn’t ever felt before in Chrysalis but I knew exactly what it was.  I had found her soul.  It was strangely easy to pull at it.  To start ripping her soul from her body.  Chrysalis’ resistance collapsed and in moments her soul was in my control.  I wasn’t certain what to do with it.  Then pain the like of which I hadn’t thought possible struck me.  But it wasn’t anywhere in my body.  No it was my soul being attacked.  Chrysalis was trying to rob my soul and body from me.  The pain was unbearable but no matter how she tugged my soul would not budge.  I started to pull her soul into pieces and ran it through a matrix.  I had so much power running through me.  I couldn’t even begin to comprehend it.  It seemed like forever but it was before our bodies hit the ground Chrysalis was no more.  I faded to black.  My body couldn’t handle the amount of mana running through me.