'
The weight of the world was too much to bear alone.. - ̛͈͚̯̞̘̕͝҉͡˙̶̡͔̭̘͉͖͚̞̦̮̞̥̙͏̡˙̯̲͎̯̲͕͎̤̫͉̺̯̖̜̝͍́̀̕͘͜ʇ̧̛̻̰͔͚͉͙̳͙̙̲̩̯̩͇͝l̷̹̫̯̭̠̦͔̟̜̭̱͡͠҉n̢̹̱̯̮͚̝͔̣̰̻̮̰ɐ̻̤̰̫̮͍͔̥̞̖̝͔̕͏ɟ͙̬͖̼̫̝̦̩̪ͅ͏̢́͞ ̶̛̦̹̜͎̠̫̮̜̮̲̼̣̭̹̝͍̺̬́ͅɹ̪̰͔̦̠͇̝̥̀n͓͙̲̘͍͚̯͍̰͚͈̱͕͖̬͖̜͜ǫ̸̖̮̙͚͕̣̖̭̯͉͍͉͍͢ʎ̵̨̧̮̻̭̰̟͚͙͓͜͞ ̶̨̛̫͍͚͉̘̹͝͞s̡̻̩͈̱͏̵,̛̦̺̖̜̙̟̩͕̯̲͢ʇ̵̵̸̗̺̖̮͈̞̟̼͖̺̗̲̣̞͇̀͢I
'
Was Celestia, crying? Sad looking tears seemed to be streaming down as though a light rain burst from within. It couldn't be. Twilight, finding herself truly fearful and barely able to take a hoofstep closer finds forcing the matter is the only way. Surely that could not be tears upon her mentor's face? How could one who had suffered a blow a thousand years long be this easily shaken? This madness engulfing them could not be that bad? If she were but loosed from her oddly twisting cage then certainly it would be found that rage was there, not sadness? Something was totally offbeat here. The puppet lay still, such a motionless state betrayed some danger of its own. It couldn't be this easy. Too much was at play.
From where she stood Twilight began cautiously dispelling whatever dark magics ensnared both Celestia and Luna. It was none too soon. Much longer and they would have perished unbeknownst to the entire populace. Somewhat before time, she would have been thrust onto the throne for a second time. That was not how the future was envisioned by her. Keeping an eye on the somehow even more creepy puppet lying there was difficult while trying to remove such powerful works as those used to surround the other princesses. What was the meaning behind that harsh guttural screech the thing let out at her answering his riddle? No. This was much too easy. Any moment now it must stand once again. Any scary story would suggest so.
Could it really be this simplistic? It would go against any feeling or sense, especially something this dark and deadly. The surrounding unusual pressure did not lessen. If anything it felt more intense than before. Nearly wheezing from the strain of putting up with it and removing the enchantments holding her friends was terrifically taxing on the mind and body. Finally, the strange metal pieces scraping their way around the two sisters barriers ceased to move and fall upon the ground. They both looked shaken, disturbed even. Much to Twilights surprise, Celestia fell flat on her face.
"Sister!" Luna went to move and nearly did the same thing, almost entirely spent from the effort of protecting herself.
Celestia's eyes snapped open as she lay there and huffed. Groaning in serious pain. Something she'd never heard.
"Twilight..run.." She coughed and gagged a moment as if dying right then. What? Luna appeared to be mouthing the same. What were they suggesting? Just leave them here? She couldn't possibly. It was unthinkable. Why were they telling her to flee? That was the last thing she would even imagine doing by this point. They must be protected from further harm.
As if in answer to that suggestion a deep thunderous sound rang out throughout the vast chamber much like a bell announcing a death knell. It came from round and about, somehow nowhere and everywhere at once. So very loud.
A keening almost pathetic sounding wail erupted from the weird alicorn puppet. Despite it all this was still making less and less sense. What was going on now? Twilight could feel her heart pounding heavily. Outside the range of her vision were imagined shadows dancing by, moving like the churning water of rapids. A harder look around revealed nothing. This was no comfort at present. Was she now simply jumping at the slightest thing, or was something really encircling them? Then, she heard it. Almost a whimper from the puppet. Celestia and Luna were both finally starting to regain their senses, but they could not be regaining any strength under this unusual downward weight. She had to get them out of here, now.
It was already too late. Slowly, the terrifying puppet began to rise. As though it were riddled with pain it lurched to it's hooves with a horrible clunking sound of wood and squeaking joints. That movement was on its own enough to nearly bedevil the senses and throw only more dark on the situation before them. Three alicorns against one at full power would likely have made this no contest. As it stood Twilight must stare it down alone. Help coming from those two at this moment was highly unlikely. If only there was more time. It's head cranked around once more in an even more disconcerting manner than before at a rate she could not imagine to stare directly at her. If it could indeed stare, with those baleful eyes.
Now so much closer, only now, despite the dim light did she notice how its features truly were. Painted jagged teeth one might find from some foals bad dreams were more smeared than drawn around what would be this things muzzle. The eyes a soulful blue, but surrounded by some kind of paint that almost appeared to dull the light directed at them. The overall effect at this much closer distance was more of some alarmingly crazed circus clown than a regal alicorn. No. It didn't look like that before. She was certain it was far less terrifying before the head spun around. That was a detail she almost missed from the intensity of the situation. Twilight took this to mean it was done playing around, if it ever really was.
This time speech that came out as more a drawled hiss once more spouted from it. Such a strange muffled voice.
"Celestia.. why did you leave me to die?" It nearly spat those words, if it could. What was it talking about? Celestia gasped and actually looked terrified a moment then very shakily stood as Luna looked up, still not quite able to join her.
"This can't be. You are dead, gone from me and the realm of the living. You cannot be here." She said weakly. What was she saying? What could be meant by that? Did she know who or what was behind this? Twilight was still expecting an attack that as yet was not forthcoming. Something else was happening. Something far stranger still. This felt pointedly dangerous.
"I couldn't stay nor save you. What you did was wrong." Celestia said, calm and confident, even so weakened as to be shaking like a leaf in the wind. This was yet some other turn which could not have been guessed at. Finally, Twilight spoke.
"Celestia, who is this and why does he seem to hold you in such contempt?" At her asking and most unexpectedly, Celestia's head drooped. The puppet spoke vehemently, and in much more modern language. That was odd.
"You never told even her about me. How disappointing. Did I mean so little to you in the end?" It sounded accusatory. Angry beyond words. The anger strung throughout its speech was something felt as though a physical blow.
What was it talking about? Mean something to her? Celestia definitely was crying softly. A soft sob escaped her muzzle. It was painful to see and hear. Twilight almost never saw a tear on her face before. It was agonizing to see.
"Twilight.. A thousand years is a very long time to spend alone. Did you think I never had a tryst in all that time?" She kind of gulped as she got those tears slightly under control. Slightly.
"A tryst. That is what you would call me? A tryst." A horrible, hollow and emotionless dry laugh echoed all about.
"You left me to misery and death!" Such terrifying anger in those words spilling forth from this thing against her.
"I told you there was no way to extend the natural ends of life, especially for non-alicorns. The only reason I was granted such longevity by the elements was so that someday I might have my happy ending with my sister returned to me. I used them in a manner they were never supposed to be used in. In doing this I made it so neither me nor Luna could ever have wielded them again, but it was with only pure intentions. You however, cannot be alive by any such means. You have turned to naught but evil." Celestia explained. The puppet shook it's head side to side slowly as if chiding her.
"I begged for your help in becoming one so that I might live longer just for you, but you refused me!" It seethed. What?
"I thought you loved me, that I meant something to you. I did mean something to you, did I not in the least?" This things anger was rising by the minute, nearly yammering. Luna finally managed to make it to her hooves again and looked over forlornly. She was very nearly in tears herself, and shaking somewhat from near-exhaustion. She looked hurt as well.
"Sister.. I am so very sorry. I didn't know. I thought there would have been far more to fill your long life than naught but anguish over me.." She said, sounding more tired than Twilight ever heard from either of them before.
"You didn't even tell your own sister about me. Why? Why did you forget and forsake me so utterly?" It harried her.
"It wasn't like that at all. I could not simply turn you into a true alicorn. It doesn't work that way, and I never forgot you. Your memory haunted me for so many hurtful years. However, when you started insisting on seeking dark magics to sustain yourself in lieu of the hard work necessary to become an alicorn that was unforgivable. You could have done it, you had everything you needed but deemed it too difficult and simply gave up to go trotting down that forbidden path. I didn't want to, I had to leave you. You..gave me no choice.." Her voice cracked and tears softly fell once more. Twilight glanced over to Luna and found her to look as mystified and saddened by hearing all off this as she was. Celestia must have hurt so tremendously to never speak of this.
"Enough! Lies lies! Nothing but lies. You speak of that which is unforgivable? I loved you with all my heart and soul, but in the end you wouldn't even lift a hoof to help me! For letting me face age and death alone. For leaving me all by myself, dreading the dark to come which I was forced to then embrace for survival. I opt to tear your life asunder as punishment for your hubris. You will suffer mightily as I have suffered through the years, and all others along with you. First, you will watch your prized student be destroyed before you. Now, cower." Uh-oh. Something felt like it was missing from that story. He never said exactly how he was still alive, or even if he actually was. Could he truly be some dead thing come haunting?
Twilight knew she was about to be attacked and prepared for the fight of her life, but as the dreadful thing went to move something else entirely unexpected occurred. A feeling of the entire area shaking took hold. This did not seem to be his doing since the puppet looked around as though confused as well. It then looked upwards once more. Of all things to see, an immense amount of dirt, rock, and whatever else might lay above was lifted and moved aside to expose daylight above. What was happening? The huge mound of material slid away to reveal Rarity wearing some odd gleaming pendant and Trixie assisting her. The rest of her friends were looking in and down from above, standing aside where the cavern roof formerly was. This was spectacular to witness. Almost unbelievable.
"Wow Rarity, I didn't think you had it in you." Twilight said. Rarity responded a little less enthusiastically, huffing and clearly having difficulty drawing breath with her horn ablaze. All that power from her could be sensed dwindling rapidly.
"I don't. Whatever you're going to do, with more alacrity please!" Rarity beseeched her to act swiftly. Twilight turned to face this blight upon reality. Perhaps he had suffered, but it sounded like much of it may have been his own doing and brought upon himself. She would press Celestia for answers later, provided they all survived this moment. Rainbow Dash was quite suddenly hovering above and dumped a can of some liquid straight down on the puppet. It screamed. What the?
What did Rarity mean by that anyway? No time to consider. The puppet was acting like it was in pain. It may only be an act, but very convincing nonetheless. It writhed and moaned as though in actual agony. What did Dash just throw on it from up there? The paint on the eyes was now running downwards across the muzzle of the thing, giving it an appearance as though blood were flowing out of them. This provided it an even more menacing countenance despite acting as if seriously injured. Surely just dousing it couldn't have inflicted any serious damage? Real pain seemed extremely unlikely.
"Get princess Luna and Celestia out of here, I will hold this thing off. Go." Twilight bade her friends and they obliged.
Despite protests they did not currently have any strength to resist as Rarity hoisted them both aloft with clearly tremendous strain, her horn looking almost burnt. They were all quickly away from the area above. Now Twilight could at least attack this thing without the worry of harming anypony. It was still muttering near incoherently and for the slightest instant she almost felt sorry for whoever was controlling it. He sounded truly sad, but his voice was tinged with a sort of hatred behind it so rarely encountered she could hardly believe it was possible. All of this must have been planned for a long time. It was executed so flawlessly it was near perfect. Another horrible thought occurred to her. There were three puppets.
This one was also so clearly different to the other two it caused great concern. It sounded like Celestia once very much cared for whoever this person was in the distant past. She'd never really considered at great length what it must have been like for her to live such a long span, always holding in back of the mind how she failed and was also forced to endure terrible consequences for endless years. Whatever happened, Celestia had a serious falling out with this pony to a point where she felt the need to abandon him to his fate. How horrible. Not a thing Twilight ever expected to hear about her.
"You can drop the act, it's getting old." Twilight said directly to the wooden thing before her. It started cackling madly.
Now what? The pony or whatever he might be now behind it all was clearly deranged. Out of his mind in every conceivable sense. Twilight assumed this was not always the case. Celestia was almost always one to try and more gently push those around her towards better paths, but would never have fed anyone's delusions. Twilight could only feel some sadness, pity perhaps towards this pony. He was sick in spirit and mind, as sharp and intelligent as that mind might be.
"Please, put a stop to this. Come out of the darkness, let us help you." She had to at least make the effort before going any further. The mad cackling arising from the puppet only grew worse hearing this suggestion, not good at all.
"Help me? Help me!? Where was that help centuries ago, when I actually needed it? Taheheheh.." The puppet very suddenly straightened itself smartly, standing quite tall. There was some intimidation there of a sort she could not name. It standing there like that could almost let it be mistaken for something among good. Coldly, it said only one thing more.
"Prepare to die, princess." Those words were laced with some icy feeling of absolute truth. He would not stop until she was dead, or him defeated somehow. Well and actually dead. Likely her friends as well. Never quite having been driven to the point where it felt like she must commit a murder, this stung inside. She must put an end to this however possible.
Twilight could sense it coming. Some gathering power of immense depth surging forth from within this infernal mockery of life as it's eyes and horn practically lit afire with flowing power. He was not going to play around, taunt or any further mess with her. No more riddles. It meant to destroy her in one gargantuan blow the nature and likes of which were never leveled at her before. Serious massive power was present within this one. He must have spent near all those years watching, planning. How long did he take to lay plans for all of this? Even more, there was an unusual spinning sensation surrounding this place. It wasn't right. She'd expected he was going to attack, but this was no spell aimed towards her.
She'd made a terrible miscalculation. Twilight knew it the second the entire surrounding chamber lit up and tracks of unnoticed runes along the floor erupted in blue fire. She leapt into the air and took wing to escape the area. Looking down confirmed it was already too late. The fire streamed off towards tunnels in multiple directions below. She felt sick to her stomach. A horrible realization dawned. An incredibly huge spell was being unleashed, right underhoof the entire time.
"How could I have been so foalish? This is a mistake. A great big mistake. I missed it." Every tunnel, every turn beneath the surface leading to this place was part of something far larger, grander, and even more disturbing than she imagined.
If she hadn't taken off almost instinctively the flames would have engulfed and immolated her for certain. While the puppet sat ringed by flames she could still hear it wildly chortling below, it's voice echoing wildly and booming.
"Do you know pain little pony? How much can you take? Let us dance." What was he talking about? The puppets horn took on a glow she recognized and immediately took to mid-air dodging. Despite all the power it just used on whatever all those runes were for it felt as though he were drawing energy from some vast ocean. How powerful was this thing in truth? It did not feel quite proper, but the alicorn aspect of the puppet was proven no lie. His strength was utterly immense.
Attempting to block any attack thrown forth by that thing would be completely suicidal. She'd fought before, but even her own great amount of magical skill felt ridiculously dwarfed by the barrage of sheer rage behind him and his assault. What kind of monster was she facing in him? A monster he surely was. Barely able to get a bead and fight back, she was only just able to keep evading him. This only seemed to be either delighting him or enraging him further. It was difficult to tell. Was it possible he was enjoying this? This undeniably crazed lunatic was someone Celestia cared for once? How far removed he must be from what he once was. This was no good. The situation had gone from terrible to untenable.
Without any aid she must retreat for now. It was time to withdraw. At this moment there was no way he could be defeated. Activating the teleportation anchor as he went to attack again, she found herself back at the castle. There was no time to waste and did so once more to find herself in front of the castle gates to plunge directly into another situation unfolding. Celestia and Luna, the legitimate royalty and her friends were standing in front of the castle doors, barred by the current captain of the guard and a large throng of heavily armed elites. Beyond them stood the two fakes. Rarities horn really looked burnt from her efforts before, and the jewelry she wore was dimmed as though drained of color. Strange.
"What's going on here?" Twilight addressed the captain.
"Princess Twilight. Thank goodness. It must be obvious. Each of these four claim to be the real thing. I don't know if I can even trust you, but at least there is only one of you.." The situation was now quite clear. There was really no time for this if her guess about those runes was correct, but neither was there a choice except to deal with it. This could be a serious problem. She looked about, deciding there was only one thing for it. Hopefully taking these two things on in battle was not as dangerous a prospect as the other. Were they anywhere near as powerful? Forthright action was required.
"Guards. Hear me. Know that I understand and blame none of you for our current predicament." The battered and real Celestia said matter-of-factly. This must be a true difficulty for the guards. Most of them would see all four as though actually themselves. Twilight spoke up. She steeled herself for whatever was about to be brought on by making a move.
"I am going to put a quick end to this. The two standing in the castle are fakes and have been for some time. Before any of you suggest otherwise, I will prove it right now by summoning princess Cadance who will surely attest to their falsehood." It was a bit of a bluff. She could do so, but to forcefully teleport a pony this huge distance would be terribly taxing for any.
"Grr. Clever clever Twilight." The false Luna said in that high-pitch voice, not even trying to hide it now. Ridiculously the two puppets looked to each other then back at the stunned guards. It must hurt them all so badly, now knowing they'd been watching over two fakes for a lengthy period of time. The guards were never easily fooled before.
"Yes sister, it seems we are had. Shall we?" The illusion dropped around them and all gasped at seeing the mimics exposed for their true selves. The real Celestia gave orders.
"Seize both, we may need to study them!" The guards immediately jumped into action only to be bounced away.
Twilight tried getting off a shot only to see a shimmering barrier absorb the impact across the whole surface.
"How trite and pathetic of you. Behold, the truth of us." The two puppets said in unison, then both looked like they simply fell apart. What was going on? That could not possibly be a good sign. There were other worries as well.
"Princess, there is a terrible danger coming from far below ground. You must evacuate the whole castle right now. Let me watch these two for the moment." Twilight urgently explained. Something far more horrible was about to happen. Celestia nodded and ran off inside to raise the alarm. Luna remained by her side. Her friends were also near.
"Twilight, pray let me assist thee." Twilight almost laughed, were the situation not so dire she would have. Because of her history, Luna did occasionally slip into using archaic language as well. She was in no condition to fight currently.
"No. You're still hurt and very weak. I can see and sense it. Please vacate for now. Go to Ponyville, take my friends and as many guards as you can with you to my castle. I will meet you there after. Do not argue." She insisted. Luna almost looked taken aback, reluctantly agreeing. Her friends did not wish to leave either. The fallen pieces of the puppets were quivering oddly within the powerful shield. To her eye the pieces were arranging themselves into some oddly specific pattern and order. What was about to happen?
"You must go. Right now none of you can help me further, and get Rarity medical attention as soon as you get there. I can tell she needs it." The grim expression on her face even managed to convince Dash it was best to withdraw. Rarity had channeled so much raw energy earlier she was lucky to still be conscious, but was clearly suffering from the strain now. Something was happening inside that barrier. All the myriad pieces of the puppets were assembling themselves together like some ridiculously complex jigsaw puzzle. Luna gathered as many guards close to her as she dared and transported all of them along with Twilights friends away from the castle, leaving only the captain and a small contingent remaining.
Celestia was making short work of clearing the castle in small bursts until it was deemed empty by her. Finally, she stood beside Twilight once more. Not a moment too soon. She was huffing and beyond spent by now herself, eyeing the strange sight. By now it was plain what was happening. The pieces of the apparently shattered puppets were combining themselves into an odd approximation of a doubly-sized alicorn. What kind of trickery was this now?
"Guards, sound the alarm in the city. We cannot possibly evacuate them all in the time remaining. At least they might have a chance with some warning. Now go, swiftly." Celestia bid, and the rest went galloping off with the captain at pace.
"Twilight. Is Canterlot, my home..about to fall before this darkness?" It was a rather blunt question from her friend and mentor, it hurt to hear her voice so distraught and tinged with regret. Canterlot, fall? How did it come to this so rapidly? It was nearly without precedent. That could not be allowed. There was genuine fear behind those words.
"Not if I can help it. You don't deserve to see that happen. I will do my best to prevent it." She said, mustering all her confidence. Any second now the monstrous puppet would emerge from that shield. Was all this really controlled by a single pony?
"Celestia, who..' Twilight wanted to know more but she held up a hoof.
"I will tell you everything later. Do what you must." She looked her straight in the eyes. So much pain and torment could be seen within them now. Wracked with guilt behind a depth that was usually overlooked.
"Save my beloved ponies, my city. Please.." That was one look she definitely never saw on her face before. Absolute dread. To hear her begging hurt inside in some manner never felt before.
"You're completely exhausted. You should go to.." Twilight went to say.
"I know. Good luck." Celestia poofed out of existence beside her just in time. The barrier protecting the puppet was falling away. It was terrifying in both look and feeling. The size alone almost seemed larger than combining both should have allowed for. A true menace strode forth, all the while odd clicking and clattering sounds coming from within the wooden hull. It began to stride forth, slowly emerging from the shield encasing it. The enormous glimmering capital city surroundings felt entirely amiss now. Something horrendous was about to engage Twilight in battle. What could she possibly do against this misery being inflicted upon the city? For now, everything was left solely up to her.
Enough energy was already spent just avoiding her previous opponent. These things were proving to be death incarnate. If such a thing could be true. Any second the huge alicorn puppet would be at her throat. She must think of a valid strategy quickly or cede victory to them. That was unacceptable. Why did this have to happen? Very often in the preceding years it seemed like things fell on her to deal with more and more, but this? During this time Twilight was continually casting spells in preperation. Was this even really anyone's fault? Was this thing as strong as the king? Worse? If it somehow possessed even more power was there even any possible means of stopping it? It was loose, and closing in.
This time at least she was slightly more prepared. It would not amount to much. Twilight intended to save the city her mentor loved so dearly, whatever it took. The large puppet spoke, gratingly this time. The voice felt painful to even hear, as though many screams were trying to escape from within the horrid thing all at once.
"Look at the little pony before us. It's so cute, thinking it can stand up to us." The puppet began chortling in a strange dual-voiced way as if some terrific joke had been told. Immediately it's horn blazed with untold arcane energies which gathered in an awful twisting ball and shot directly towards Twilight, a terrifying black beam of dazzling dissolute light.
She barely avoided the blast, mistakenly believing that was all to it. A rumbling sound beside her told otherwise. Horrified, Twilight looked on as an entire outer section of Canterlot fell away to tumble and fall, sliced from the foundations by that single beam. It was impossibly powerful. That thin wispy rope of a blast was strong enough to rend away a part of the very city itself? Hopefully nopony was still in those sections, or below when it all fell off the mountain to be crushed far below. This maniacal thing must be stopped immediately or might destroy the entire city all by itself. Twilight anticipated fighting would be damaging, but not to this degree. Perhaps a few buildings, maybe part of the castle. Not this.
The destruction from this single attack defied comprehension. Without time to think she once more fired off a random shot from her horn which by some miracle of angle struck at one of the now even thicker ethereal cables seeming to simply hang out of the open sky above it. How did that work? One side of the puppet drooped momentarily in an odd way. What was that? Having no other clue to go on she began a huge barrage of her own towards all of the cables.
"Insect, cease." It practically roared as multiple shots struck in various places. Some slamming straight through it's wooden hull and several impacts upon the cables which made the thing stumble about as if drunken. Was this working?
It was still dangerous. Her only real option was to keep it off-balance so there was no chance it might fire off another beam. Just one of those was devastating. Flying about letting off a constant stream of less powerful shots was sufficient to keep it pinned. It or whoever was in control of it was becoming quite angered. Somehow even more enraged than before.
"Thou pathetic jackaninny. Cease your pedantic idolatry. Give in to the inevitable. I have already won. Just look at the state of Celestia's miserable castle already. This eyesore of vanity shall become my plaything.' That voice was so horrible it almost made Twilight stop shooting, but her concentration was enough to keep on task. It was becoming quite irate.
Slowly she was chipping away at those cables. Each strike against them seemed to travel back up along them, reducing them in width and control. It was nowhere near enough. At this rate she would be exhausted as well, long before it fell.
"You dare? You dare!?" It bellowed as one of the cables finally was cut through and it's right foreleg fell out from under it. Cleaved straight off it's body and sent slamming into the ground.
"You shall pay dearly for this display of ignorance and deference wrongly given to..her." What did it mean by that? All of this still made very little sense. Going this far because of a little spat hundreds of years before? Why do this?
"I have known Celestia nearly my entire life, she would never have hurt another on purpose. Yes she has made mistakes, everypony makes mistakes. Everyone, I don't care who they are. I am certain even you have as well. Give this up. You can never win." Twilight retorted, yelling almost coldly herself. It was a slight gamble to speak, but she did not cease circling and taking constant wild shots at the thing. It could not be risked to allow it a chance of hitting her directly or she would surely be vaporized in an instant. For whatever reason it was not firing back now. Perhaps using all that power in one shot had disabled it? Maybe it just needed time to recover from that. Something she was not intent on giving.
"Celestia would never have wanted to hurt you either. You must know this is true." All this endless circling to avoid any possible retaliation was wearing and near dizzying, but unavoidable. Twilight was hoping to glean something useful from this back and forth. Anything of real usefulness would be an absolute boon by now.
"You know nothing about me. Nothing. Nor I think..do you know much about her." It almost sounded like it was gloating even as Twilight was disassembling it piece by piece. Was this person or thing simply insane? It stamped it's left hindleg to emphasize what it said then a huge beam shot forth from it once again straight towards her. It was strangely easily dodged.
"Thou foal. You think you are winning when you are simply delaying the inevitable." It said, oddly calm this time. She noticed too late. It was not even aimed at her. The endpoint of that horrible black beam slammed straight through the center of Celestia's academy for gifted unicorns and several buildings behind. A place she once attended, an unmatched center of magical learning. Was that on purpose? If so, it was a spiteful hateful thing to do. This motivated Twilight to continue her circling barrage with renewed vigor. Ever so slowly she was making headway as one piece after another of this horrid construction was ripped apart. So much hatred was disturbing in its own right.
Having discovered these things at least actually had some real weakness was a great motivator. This was turning out to be surprisingly easy to deconstruct. Almost too easy. By now it was missing both wings as well as the leg, giving it a very odd posture. Instead of the expected surrender it simply continued to chortle maddeningly even as it was being torn asunder.
"What's so funny you absolute nutcase?" This was nearly enraging to Twilight. She was beating it, right?
"Your struggles are hilarious. Do go on showing me how the great Twilight Sparkle does things." It stated that in a weird way, sounding condescending and just plain insulting in tone. What was it even talking about?
This was ludicrous. She was the one destroying it, not the other way around. This thing was speaking almost like it was more than one person at once. What did that mean? Anything that should be of significance felt..undervalued by these things.
"Your abject humiliation will please me almost as greatly as watching the life slip one drop at a time from Celestia, after I allow her to witness Equestrias dismemberment at my hooves." It couldn't be serious? The realization dawned. It really did not care about being destroyed. Why was that? If blowing this thing to smithereens actually meant nothing, then what?
Did this or these ponies really want to kill absolutely everything? There was no surer indicator of madness than this. It did feel as though there was more than one personality involved here. Strafing this thing from afar was still taking much too long. Any moment now it would likely be able to fire off another of those tremendous black bolts. There was no good way of approaching the fight. At best she could continue hammering on the cables. The time passing felt sluggish, so fraught with danger a knot was developing in her stomach. A battle like this was not something anypony ever expected to occur, especially not directly in front of the castle proper. Invasion perhaps, but nothing with the intent of absolute destruction.
Desiring to tear Canterlot from its moorings had to this very moment never been thought to be anyone's ambition. There was so much history here, to lose even a small portion of that was an incalculable blow of its own. Any second now. Twilight felt it once more to dive aside as that destructive force exploded out of the alicorn's horn. Once more it was not so much aimed at her as one of the magnificent towers behind. Taking only the briefest instance to cast her gaze towards the tower confirmed that was sliced diagonally away to fall atop a portion of the city. If anypony was still there the chances of survival were little. That was on purpose. It must be.
"Stop it, you're fighting me!" Twilight was becoming very angered by this point. A rising horrible feeling inside such as this was concerning even to herself. There were grand and great reasons for one powerful as herself to remain in control of their emotions. Not the least of which was potentially unleashing torrential energies at random to any possible ends.
"Fighting you?" It mocked. That was definitely mocking. It served only to deepen that strained feeling inside.
"Eighty-five." Echoed from the thing. Why would it say that? This was new.
"That is how many ponies you just failed to save. Let's make it a few hundred shall we?" Such vile malevolence.
"Murderer. How are you enjoying this?" Twilight was becoming so frustrated with her apparent lack of ability to save lives in combination with its harsh and uncaring words that she somewhat slurred her own. It was a bad sign.
"Aw, the pretty little pony is getting tired. Don't tell me we have to stop playing already?" It said. Playing? What was it goin on about this time? Everything said since the battle started sounded almost like it was bored. Was all this merely some kind of sick game? That thought was rather worrying. There were just too many things outright and patently weird about the whole of this. This thing was so powerful it could have annihilated the city long ago and without any interference.
Why wait until now? If the object was simply to smash Canterlot it could have done so. With that kind of power behind it even the powerful citywide shields, were they in place, would not have withstood that for long. Why even bother with this kind of ruse at all? All three of these strange puppets that seemed pressed into service from some other reality might have enough power on their own to crush any defenses a city might have. Finally, another cable dissipated after a severe hit and the things tail went clattering off.
"Whelp, you've gone and bobtailed my personage." There was something strange in the manner of speech.
More than just sometimes archaic. Was there a deeper meaning to the things it was saying? It could just as well have been toying with her as anything else. What could the real plan here be? This fight was dragging on far far longer than hoped. Twilight, knowing she could not keep this up forever was being forced to come to a most miserable conclusion. Right here, in this place she knew so well and wished with all her heart to defend. Even should she destroy this horrendous thing before her, something far worse was certainly coming afterwards. That was a fact. An undeniable and disheartening prospect. Its approach could be felt now. The effect of the underground runespell was getting closer each moment.
"What have you done?" Twilight practically screamed. The feeling of the encircling spell below was beyond unbearable.
"Finally, she notices. Not enjoying our little malarky?" It said. Was it even really speaking to her anymore? It spoke as though someone else was around. Whatever the case, there was even less time to bring this to an end than before. Twilight had by this time nearly chipped through all of the unusual cables. This whole time she'd been trying to discern how they were connected to elsewhere but it was proving to be something beyond even her deep knowledge of magics. Understanding them may have made this easier. Something dark and terrible was coming closer. The sky above turned ever darker.
What was it going to take? Thankfully the cables were all almost cut through by this time. Twilight was expecting it this time. The things head turned towards her once more to level pure destruction in that direction. This shot, however, she not only managed to fly out of the path but also shoot and deflect the beam away from the intended target. Throughout it was never trying to actually hit her. Merely taking opportunistic potshots to make it appear so and instead damage the city was a further horrible thing to do. A small chunk off the top of the great main gates and a small portion of the mountain was shorn away. The level of damage was so far beyond anything she'd ever been witness to before. There was so little time left.
At long last, the cables were just about shorn off. Not a moment too soon. Enough damage was inflicted across the city already. Just as the final cable was destroyed a tremendous whispering noise blared out from it. Finally, the double-height puppet fell motionless in a pile. A testament to its power of smoking shattered ruins lay all around. It was difficult to imagine this being any worse. Twilight decided it was best to go find the small group of guards and get out of Canterlot for now. This would hardly be the end of it. A slow, building roiling feeling was circling the mountain below. This was not something she could stop. This spell was a complete unknown and she had no time to create some type of counter to it.
It was going to do something irreparable in the magnitude of harm, she just knew it would. It was unmistakable, that ferocity swirling about. Better not be here when it hit. What was it going to do? Flying over the city revealed smoking charred wreckage and fires burning out of control spilling out of smashed buildings. This horror was only getting started. There were injured and dead all over, most of whom had barely any warning. The type of magic building below the mountain was seriously awful in feeling and completely beyond her. Spotting the remaining guards below she landed before them. Some of them were also injured by debris, but mostly appeared intact.
"Princess, thank goodness. Is it over?" The captain asked, he looked as devastated as the city and residents around him.
"Not by a long shot. We all have to leave, right now. There is no time." It was a terrible thing to have to say.
"But, all these ponies.." He waved sweeping across the ruins.
"I'm sorry. We..must head to my castle immediately. I am almost drained. Canterlot..is lost. We take whoever we can and get out of here, now. Those are my orders." She had rarely given orders, hurriedly telling him as she huffed. The captain went wide-eyed but gritted his teeth and saluted then ran off to gather the others and whoever else could move.
Twilight stood looking about the shattered city. It was heartrending. This was where she spent much of her time growing up. Now it looked like some desolate alien landscape and there was precious little she could do about it for the moment. Buildings could be rebuilt. Lost lives were far more difficult to deal with. So much death had struck and so rapidly it left her mind reeling in shock. Time was dwindling away so quickly. The mass of swelling power far below could surely be felt by all now. The malice and corrupted feeling of it was overpowering. Any moment that would erupt. It felt to her like overlapping waves of increasing energy were crashing into one another. It might be more than what she just faced.
Why would anypony go this far? To maim and kill were one thing. Spitefully tearing homes and lives apart on top of that was just added cruelty. There were already so many dead, and likely more ahead. That prospect was hurtful in another way. Wearing on the mind and grating on the senses. How was she going to tell Celestia what happened? So many near misses had left her singed and injured, cut and bruised in multiple places from flying debris. If it was possible, she would make whoever this pony was pay for such atrocities. Having offered to help him now felt like she'd betrayed goodness itself. A miserable feeling of helplessness enclosed around her. This was not often felt either. Such pain and suffering everywhere.
How many lives did she just fail to save all told? It was likely in the hundreds, if not higher still. More were about to be lost who could not be evacuated. That hurt the most. Aside from cries for help that now could not be rendered, the normally bustling city was so quiet and still now. Something about that made the feeling worse yet. The dismal black smoke rising from the formerly grand capital was so thick and dark it blotted out the sun here and there. How far was this sheer madness going to extend? From what little was said, his intent was nothing but to cause suffering. Twilight shuddered.
"Why?..why.." She muttered to herself. This was not something she could have prepared for. Not this level of insanity.
"Oh, what are we going to do?" Twilight took off after the guards. Once together with those few others it was possible to save she would teleport all of them out of the city. Being this dangerously close to exhaustion would make it a risky move, but abandoning anyone she actually could save was not an option. Any second now something epically bad in scale and scope was going to happen with no possible way to prevent it. Whatever horror was about to be unleashed, they must not be inside the city confines when it happened. The dreadful sensations it was instilling were already nearly too much to bear. It wasn't even begun yet. The type of spell being set loose below was such a complete unknown.
"I will take us as far as I safely can in this condition, are you ready?" She asked the captain.
"Present and accounted for, and as many as we could reach. I hate to leave the rest. Running away with tails between our legs isn't what we do." He said as the cries of others about the city could still be heard.
"There is no other choice. Hang on, this is going to be rough." Twilight summoned what focus she had left, beginning to teleport the entire group out of Canterlot. Just as she did this a massive green shimmering light engulfed the whole city and all went silent. A moment later they found themselves halfway between the capital and Ponyville.
The group landed hard on the ground. The lack of power made the entire experience quite painful for all, especially those injured among them. A huge shimmering wall of wavering green light could be seen even from this far distance. What did it mean? Whatever the intent, it was nothing good.
"Ow. I know that hurt all of you, I'm very sorry about that. Get the injured to help, then head for my castle. Bring any of our forces you encounter along under my authority. This is far from over." Twilight ordered. Now, she must deliver the news to her mentor. This instilled its own sort of dread. She was returning in failure, and lost lives.
Only having enough power left to teleport herself in short bursts toward the castle, it took a great deal of time to get there. There were no transportation hubs directly between here and there. It would not have been any faster to go out of her way to reach one. Finding tears forcing their way out as she made her way along put further pressure on a now injured psyche. That something even stronger was out there and intent on raining the same kind of destruction across the whole of the land instilled such a sickly feeling in the stomach she found herself choking and hacking repeatedly. This kind of evil was meant for books and stories, not to face in stark reality. This should not be. What did he do? What was happening back there?
The world itself if it could, felt as though trembling in fear. Could anything be so against that which is natural as to make the very world itself apprehensive? It almost felt so. At last, she arrived home. A home which she now felt ashamed to approach. Dejectedly she walked inside the doors and towards the throne room. Almost filled with as much terror over relaying her failure to Celestia as the battle itself. They were all there. The two sisters, her friends. At this moment she could barely look any of them in the eye. So hurt and lost feeling was she that she almost overlooked Celestia walking straight up to her and then pulling her into a tight hug for a long moment. Snapping out of it a bit, she looked up.
"But I.." Twilight was going to explain.
"Did your best, as promised. Just rest. You need it." Celestia and Luna looked a little better, having had some time to recover. They were still quite weakened and hurt, but had clearly cleaned up in the meantime. How much power they must have expended protecting themselves during their captivity. Twilight noticed Rarity was not here, nor Trixie. Odd.
"We felt it from here. Oceans of pain and suffering untold. I believe it is time for a proper explanation." Luna spoke gravely. Sadness was on every face. They all looked towards Celestia, who herself still appeared quite hurt.
"You know our world is quite large, and Equestria is just part. In the very early days of strife and division things were not like they are now. He came from half a world away seeking solace and peace after war tore his distant homeland apart. I and my sister were still so very new to rule when I was forced to banish her. I was left alone. So many events took place in the intervening years. He also endured so much and I felt a kinship with him." Celestia took a deep breath before continuing.
"He was very nice, proper. Spoke eloquently and with a refined air. He must've spent much time in royal courts before. I found myself a bit smitten with him. It was harmless, and he was very romantic." Everyone was hanging on her words.
War was almost an unheard-of term in modernity, eliciting a gasp from each. Even Pinkie as verbose as she generally was remained quiet throughout. All were silent, not wanting to miss a word of it.
"It was good for both of us, but we kept it secret. He didn't want to interfere with my responsibilities. Eventually, he asked if it might please me for him to become an alicorn. I was shocked, surprised that somepony would want to do that just for me. It was enamoring, but not something anyone can just do. He asked for direction, and I gave what I could." This tale was enthralling to the group, but it was becoming all too clear where it was heading.
"Year after year he studied and became quite scholarly. Someone I could talk openly to about anything. One day, I noticed his mane was ever so slightly greying and his tail. I became quite concerned. If he perished of old age I would be all alone, again. Slowly, he was getting more desperate. I tried to calm his fears, but he was becoming unhinged. I wanted to help him, but there was little I could do." It was plastered all over her face just how hard it was to talk about all this.
"I discovered quite by accident he was seeking dark magic in desperation. I begged him to stop at once or I would have no choice but to send him away or imprison him. Feeling I betrayed him, he left. I thought he would've died long ago." Celestia finished.
Her normally flowing mane and tail were nearly still, and the look on her face of sheer sadness and regret. Each looked to the other, all near tears. Their much-beloved princess had endured far more than they knew.
"Princess, ah never imagined. We should've given more thought to it, and to you." Applejack said, fully understanding what wanting a loving family is all about. This was saddening to see and hear.
"I never told anyone because I thought that was the end of it. He was quite old when I forced him to leave. I couldn't imagine him managing anything like this. I don't understand it." The forlorn expression on Celestia's face was downbringing.
"Pardon me princess, but he cannot be doing all of this alone, can he?" Rainbow brought up a good point. Something felt almost incoherent about a lot of things going on.
"If he is really alive, then he would have partaken in dark rituals and done other unspeakable things to remain so. Those sorts of methods scour one's soul bare and result in a slowly increasing loss of sanity. I know little more of it and I once stepped into that darkness." If anyone here knew the dark, it was Luna. Her saying as much was painful.
"Be that as it may, he has mastery over dark arts of which we know almost nothing. We need options." Twilight interjected.
"Yes. He may even have created new spells himself. He was skilled enough to do so, but never partook in it when I knew him. At least, that I know of." Celestia was almost shaking relaying all of this. Fluttershy was just sitting there staring dully through the whole conversation. Pinkie was biting on a pie tin, sitting on the edge of her seat transfixed by the story. Where did that even come from?
"When he took both of you did he say anything? Speak to either of you?" Twilight asked of the two sisters.
"Nothing. We were both taken by surprise. Nothing was said, we were just locked up. I didn't know it was him until you freed us. Even now, I'm not so sure it is." Celestia informed.
"What do you mean, how could it not be?" Fluttershy actually said something, quietly of course.
"He never said anything about wanting to hurt me or others, strange as that must sound. It's possible he was driven insane by dark magics over time but I am nearly certain he would not have survived the strain of even attempting such a thing. He was..old. I miss him." The sound of her voice so tinged with pain was just hurtful. Celestia sat there looking down. The sight of her like this was so unusual it was almost frightening. Her hunched over that like was just appalling to see.
"Should we try to retake Canterlot? Along with the Wonderbolts perhaps?" Dash was just raring to get into action.
"Wait. I've been meaning to ask, what happened to Rarity and Trixie? I saw them both back at the cavern? And what did you spill on that puppet?" The question sparked concern among the others.
"They're both at Ponyville hospital being treated for major horn trauma. Rarity got a bunch of her contacts to enchant a pendant for both of them with as much power as they could push into them. Said it was for a huge show she would be putting on not to arouse any suspicion." Dash quickly explained. So that was how they did it. The pair of them could be in serious condition after that kind of exertion.
"Will they be alright? From the sound of it, we sure could use their help still." Applejack asked. Dash was the one that went with them to the hospital and looked over to her.
"They'll be fine. The doc assured me, but help? Not happening. It could be days before they're out." Rainbow did look very worried for them both.
"And the can?" Twilight inquired.
"Paint thinner. Dumb idea, I know. Probably didn't do anything." Rainbow said, looking kind of embarrassed.
"Actually, I don't know about that. Seemed to me like that actually did bother them, a bit anyway. Not sure why though." Twilight explained about the screaming.
"Well that sure is weird ain't it? But, I guess everything kinda is right now." Applejack then brought their attention back to the matter before them. What to do.
"We know these things can be defeated but it takes such a huge amount of power. Even together at full strength, I'm not sure it would be enough to stop them." Twilight was becoming more worried than ever. Pinkie spoke.
"This is one pony I can't make friends with." Such an odd statement for her to make. Flat and dull and devoid of her usual joviality in all ways.
"We do have options. We could ask..him?" Twilight was suggesting something.
"I don't know. Do we really want to involve..him? That could be dangerous in all manner of ways." Dash responded a little fearfully. It was becoming clear who they were speaking about.
"Oh come now, he's our friend. What do we have to lose?" Fluttershy interjected. She put a hoof up to her muzzle.
"Oh, Discord." As she said the word a sparkling shimmer immediately appeared before them. He was on the map of Equestria, tiny and atop a small stage which showed up along with him. What in the world?
"Well it's about time you called me. That kind of thing is extremely dangerous you know." Did he already know what was going on? It was often difficult to tell what he was speaking about.
"Can you help us put a stop to all this?" Neither Luna nor Celestia seemed surprised at all by his sudden appearance.
"No." He intoned, shaking his head and pointing to the stage. That was abrupt and unexpected.
"Huh?" They all gasped in unison.
"What ya mean..no?" Both Dash and Applejack looked a bit angry already at this.
"Oh calm down, ladies. Before you turn yourselves purple or something." Discord said, and everyone was now purple.
"Discord!" They all yelped.
"Oh, alright." Snapping his claws everything went back to normal.
"You see this piece here?" A rook rose out of the board as he talked.
"And this piece here?" A king piece appeared behind the rook in defensive positioning while Discord walked over to it and draped himself in front of it. Definitely his usual self.
"Well you see, the kindly old king here has been replaced with this." The king piece bubbled away into the board and an exact replica of the king puppet rose in place. This was extremely weird.
"What in the hay is that supposed to mean?" Applejack was getting rather perturbed by his antics.
"It means I can't help you. In fact I can't do anything at all about it. I have to sit this one out I'm afraid. I wish you all good luck, you'll need it." With that he disappeared, leaving the small replica puppet on the map where Canterlot was.
"Why, that was about as useful as a muddy apple with a sand fillin'." Applejack was highly agitated.
"You know what he's like. Besides, I think he told us something. We just have to figure out what." Twilight picked up the little puppet. How very odd.
"Why would he leave this behind?" It was a legitimate question. Though everything he did was questionable, he was on their side. Though he may have in the past, he would not purposely place them in legitimate danger nowadays. If he could do nothing, this was going to be exceedingly difficult.
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In keeping your gaze upon the sun, nary a shadow will be seen..