“Nightfall the Gloaming, your darkestness….”
A creature spreads out its wings as it speaks: a large, battered, pigeon-like creature with the lower body of a lion. A cardinal-horse hybrid beside it punches its companion’s wing and growls,
“That’s not a word, you dope!”
The pigeon hybrid screams and prepares to retaliate.
“Silence!”
A threatening, smooth voice booms from the far side of them. Both creatures freeze and turn to face an alicorn - presumably Nightfall the Gloaming - his coat a deep midnight blue, and his black mane - reminiscent of the night - short and flowing with a white outline, but no stars shine in it as Nebula’s would.
His cold, azure eyes are locked on the pigeon hybrid.
“Speak your request!”
He snaps.
The pigeon hybrid nervously ducks his head and bobs his neck, his uninjured wing fanned out submissively as the other hangs in an awkward position.
“I mean no disrespect, your highness… the alicorns have the castle guarded at the highest security possible, and are awaiting our attack.”
Nightfall’s eyes sharpen and become even colder.
“Who could have informed them?!” He shouts. The cardinal hybrid then steps forward, unable to meet the gaze of his leader as if he fears that if he were to meet their severity unblinkingly, he would burst into flame.
“If I may, your highness… We are unsure. But…” He lifts his head a little and speaks more boldly, but still keeps his eyes on his feet, “We must persist in our mission. I am sure with your improved magic, you could destroy the barrier and we could fly in to attack.”
A smile creeps upon Nightfall’s face.
The pigeon hybrid begins to shake in fear.
“Gather the others,” He orders in a low voice.
“We’re heading out now.”
Celestia woke up with a start, gasping for breath and then scrambling to her hooves. Starswirl fell over beside her and woke up as his head collided with the floor.
They had fallen asleep while Skim was reading a book and she hadn’t even realized it.
The old librarian looked up from the book she had been deep into reading and bore on her face blatant concern.
Starswirl poked her hoof as he remained on the ground, an eyebrow raised.
Celestia glanced down at him and looked back at Skim.
“I… I had some sort of dream,” She breathed wearily and gulped, “I think they’re coming soon…”
Skim widened her eyes.
Suddenly a loud bang erupted from what sounded like the outside of the castle, and the entire library shook violently.
“They’re trying to break through the forcefield!” Celestia exclaimed through the loud noise of the convulsion, stumbling to the ground while the book Skim was holding flew out of her hooves and she toppled over herself.
There was a moment of stillness, then came another loud bang followed by more violent shaking. A few pieces of debris fell from the wall and landed several feet in front of Celestia.
Several screams echoed from other parts of the castle.
Then the shaking stopped again.
Celestia was huddled on the ground with her face pressed to the floor and her hooves protectively covering the top of her head.
She lifted her face after she had recovered enough from the shock and shifted closer to her friend, who whispered,
“What are we going to do?”
Skim wrapped a trembling hoof around the two of them, unable to respond.
Celestia then broke the lingering moment of silence and murmured,
“Have they stopped attacking?”
Skim’s voice shook as she replied, “The alicorns and soldiers must be strengthening the shield.”
“Then we might be able to hold them off?” Starswirl asked in a quiet, croaky voice.
“Until they get too tired to keep it up.” Skim sounded unusually grim.
“But they’re alicorns,” Celestia protested with a hushed tone, “There’s a bunch of them. And we have a lot of soldiers ready too.”
“Dearest, those explosions were not the making of an ordinary pony,” The librarian whispered, “In my day I’ve only known one creature to produce that powerful of an attack.”
She wrapped her arm tighter around the young friends.
“He can never be underestimated…”
Celestia’s pupils shrank and she said softly,
“Nightfall the Gloaming…..”
Skim stared at the little alicorn, her gaze unreadable.
“You…” then her beige eyes flashed with realization, “...saw him in your dream.”
“He looked a lot like Nebula,” Celestia whispered, then paused, not knowing where the comment came from.
Immediately afterward the third attack struck. The image of her mother in the Delivery room and her father never leaving her side flashed in her mind.
As they all squeezed each other tightly in the midst of the shaking and falling debris, she said aloud,
“I have to go see my family!"
“Are you crazy?!” Starswirl exclaimed, his voice shuddering in unison with the library. Celestia shook her head. “I can’t leave them while the castle is under attack!” she shouted, then an idea struck her.
“We can use that teleporting spell like before!”
Starswirl, shrugging off his pride, grabbed the arm of the old librarian as the shaking became more violent, and yelled,
“But we can’t leave Skim!”
Celestia wrapped her hooves around the other arm of Skim as she also needed something to cling to.
“Maybe if we hold on to her as we do the spell, she’ll teleport with us…!” Her voice dragged as the tremble of the castle grew even more. She could sense that the force field would fail at any second now.
Starswirl, now simultaneously realizing what little time they had, nodded with his eyes wide and weary and crawled over to her side.
Skim seemed blind to the entire situation going on around her, unable to hear due to both the attack being made on the castle and her old age. She watched them with great confusion as Celestia linked her free arm to Starswirl’s, then met horns and began their spell.
“...Er, dearies?”
She uttered, and Celestia knew her confusion was only growing. Suddenly a bright yellow light formed a large circle around the ponies and exploded into a large flash, sparkles of yellow magic remnants fizzling to the shaking floor now covered in debris, where the trio had disappeared.