//------------------------------// // Celestial Providence // Story: Terror Puppet // by Windrunner //------------------------------// ' The sound of battle still resounds across the outskirts of Ponyville, a terrible punctuation to the screams occasionally joining the clang of ringing weapons striking at the seemingly countless amount of constructs still marching on the slowly weakening defensive forces. Across the distance communication is only facilitated by messengers speeding along with all their might to and fro. At this moment, Twilight stands in awe of the message given her by the rapidly departing lunar guard. Her brother taking on a dragon of old stories, a nightmarish creation forcibly made of a once living thing. She could but hope he would survive such a battle, or any of his contingent. Out there somewhere, Celestia chose to face another horror alone. She can sense and feel the immense energies being wielded by both. It must be terribly intense. That level of spells and magic is rarely if ever needed or used. Only on the rarest of occasions would it be called for. The tempestuous nature of this absurd battle is evident in every major skirmish thus far. Every strand of fur on her neck stands on end just sensing it all. There are so many unicorns on both sides wielding magic it is actually making it difficult to tell either side apart at a distance. For the slightest moment she notes from reports that pegasi ranger forces have been put under increasing pressure to assist other units across the entire diminishing front. Much of the fighting now mere hoofsteps outside the town. She could only hope her mentor was having better luck. There he stood before her, Conflict. Harbinger of war and malice. No, not Conflict. No, a deceiver himself being played by another. Celestia could only ponder on this cruel irony a moment. That weapon it wielded was definitely no joke. Where the heavily enchanted flails head landed was smoldering from mere contact. Not from heat, the weapon emitted an extreme icy chill. What was this thing? Likely not as powerful as the scythe from before, but still more dangerous than almost anything she ever faced before. A strike against the shield she surrounded herself with would likely still be dangerous to encounter. It was obvious as she chose to remain that this time he would do his utmost to destroy her. One final gesture then. "I have something to say before this goes any further; I don't know what drove you to this, but I never stopped loving you. And, I want you to know..I forgive you." Celestia stood facing this deranged creation. Was that the slightest shudder that went through it just now? It was very difficult to tell in what little light could seep through the oppressive gloom all about. "You forgive me!? Hypocritical harlot. Have you no notion of your own faults, the miseries you happily inflict on your own subjects!? Die!" The voice ringing out from within it sounded enraged beyond measure. This made little sense, and was certainly far from what she could have expected from him. If it well and truly was him at all. It swung that massive weapon. Barely stepping back in an instant the morning star smashed into the ground with such tremendous force she could feel it exert some force against the shield. From that far away? The ground upended around it, frozen? Frost fell off? "It's fast!" She just registered and was forced to dodge once more. Whoever or whatever controlled it was clearly practiced and knew how to use this type of weapon effectively. Even as it was jerked away by the thing turning its muzzle upward the spikes passed by her a little too closely despite her shields. It was smooth and effortless in action. "He wastes no effort on pointless attacks." Celestia noted while firing off an energy bolt from her horn straight on. That did not work as anticipated. This insane simulacra or whatever they truly were matched her move with the weapon itself, the shaft attached to the chain absorbed the beam? Almost as quickly it was shot back out of the tip of the spikes in her direction. She let herself hit the ground to avoid being struck and rolled rapidly to the side as that wicked spiked ball just flew past her head, slightly deflected by her shield. It hurt even at that. It left a scratch down her right cheek. That was too close already. So easily it could reach through her defenses? What power these things bore with them. If not greater, at least equal to anything she could imagine. That cut stung a little more than it should, not a good sign. Poisoned? No, something else. Already back on her hooves she now knew better than to take any action that would result in her own energy being redirected at her. Was that his strategy with this? It was a strong defense. Attacking it could result in killing herself, a satisfaction she held no desire to grant. The illusion of the pony called Conflict before her may have been a cruel purveyor of lies, but he just as the one behind this thing was honorable in battle. He would never resort to something so crude as poison in a duel, it was not his way in life and surely not in this unlife he seemed to be master of? Already that awful steel ball of cold and destruction flung at her again, forcing a retreat. Keeping distance from this thing would not offer safety for long. Celestia knew just as her opponent they were probing each other for weaknesses. So far it presented little to none. Fast to react and clearly well trained in the art of melee combat. Every time it moved was calculated and swift, leaving little opening to cause any real damage to those horrid cables hovering above it. The wagon full of those horrendous arrows emitted a haze just above it. It must not be allowed to fire off any more of those, or worse perhaps push the entire thing into the town. No other troops were near enough to assist, nor likely able to even if they were. This was far too powerful for most. What willful insanity brought all this down upon the once peaceful countryside? She must act quickly against this madness. Simply flying away from this thing would provide no opening. It was too fast to react and too quick to attack at distance. Preparing herself for what might very well be the battle to end her life she sized up her enemy. She wanted to end this quickly as she might. Giving too much time might allow the thing to destroy her much too easily. Moving back just far enough to way to have a precious few seconds to think up a plan was all she would be afforded. One thing that could not be allowed was letting that thing reach the wagon and use arrows. As an archer it was known to be vastly destructive. She knew what must be done and drew a deep breath. "I have no choice, I must protect them from this no matter the cost. There is only one way." Celestia thought to herself, then using her horn formed a two-ended axe made of pure energy which glowed a piercing bright white. If she could not attack indirectly then she must fight in true close combat fashion. As she could not possibly bring her full true power to bear on this thing it really was the only method. It was unlikely it could absorb her energy this way, at least if she avoided contact with the main body of that terrible weapon. Hopefully before it could plan a new strategy to deal with her she went on the offensive, trying to match its swing. So fast and powerful. The axe contacted with the spiked ball and both hissed wildly. If the flail was icy, the axe was the hottest of fire. Both ends flickered with a majestic blue flame suggesting the most powerful fire imaginable. Celestia was taking a terrific gamble stepping into a melee with such a powerful creation. The puppet was prepared already. He must have guessed her approach. Not a good start to her plan. No matter. Following through with what she set in motion was too important. Losing here would almost certainly ensure the deaths of hundreds then thousands more to who knew what end? This string of madness must be brought to account, whatever it took to achieve that. If this was truly who she once loved there was little to nothing left of him or his attitude towards life. Their fight began in earnest as Celestia chose to strike again and again. This vile puppet despite being heavily armored was more then capable of unusually agile and smooth movement. Was the armor less heavy than it looked or something else? For all she knew it might be nothing more than decoration. Something to add a more intimidating air perhaps. Even were that so, it moved fluidly as it clicked and clattered. The only sounds heard thereon were of their battle. A distressingly silent affair as with the rest except when their respective weapons struck one another. This was not going as hoped. It was too deft. The one behind it must know the intricacies of fighting in heavy armor as well. This was maddening. Forming chunks of ice fell off as it steamed against the striking hot axe, sending the spiked ball almost right back at the heavy puppet. At the last moment it moved just slightly enough to regain control of the spinning ball of death and reversed the trajectory around behind above its own head straight back at her. So he knew how to handle even that. Sidestepping that wheeling engine of destruction while controlling it she spun the axe in an attempt to throw the morning star from its muzzle but failed as it spun itself around in turn to avoid losing grip. This melee was getting more and more intense as each struck and swung only to be deflected in turn until what one might view as some disturbing dance was taking place between them. On they fought. Any other viewing this would see a most perplexing sight of Celestia and a large armored puppet waltzing about hammering at each other in some timeless moment of devastation. They wheeled and parried, knocking away each others heaviest blows as one might brush some hapless insect off. Such a sight could only instill both fear and respect. The increasingly jarring confrontation between them reaching a level and height very few could ever hope to master or survive. Celestia chose this course of action and was now thoroughly committed to it. She could not flee even if she wanted to, it would result only in her death. The puppet fought back in single-minded fashion. Were anypony near they would have fled in terror, not just from the puppet but Celestia as well. A wild look was starting to reveal itself in her eyes the longer they clashed. Right now she looked less like the beloved princess everyone knew and more like some slashing wild lunatic brandishing that flaming axe ahead of her. Only skill and determination to live were keeping her on task. The true weight of this battle was becoming apparent. The energies of their weapons sparking and throwing off waves from the opposing enchantments. It was relentless, so she must be as well to stand a chance. Making any real mistake would be enough to send her flying now. How strong could these things actually be? The flail was so heavy. Rarely had Celestia ever fought like this and in such close proximity, but she knew her guards well and watched them training often. A few times having a trainer instruct her on the finer points of dueling. On her own she would at rare times occasionally engage in mock battles just such as this to test herself. Never on this level or near to such intensity. By now adrenaline and sheer will to stop this thing were keeping her motions sharp and reflexes keen to avoid being skewered or flattened. There was an awful power in that flail that could be sensed this close. Dark and cold, nearly a black chasm of emptiness in how it felt. Freezing cold. This was a cold she never felt, not even the icy north compared in depth. Every countered attack sent puffs of hissing cold pellets flinging about them. At first she worried those may prove to be some sort of weapon themselves, but seemed only to be a byproduct of their battle. Being impaled on one of those cruel spikes would be a fate most terrifying. They were matched so evenly none could have guessed the outcome of what lay ahead. She was remaining calm and collected throughout. So far at least. Caving in to panic would prove to be an instant loss. Both continued this death-defying whirlwind of a tussle. Celestia thus far could not land a single strike on the puppet itself or the eerie control cables above. Even now she could not gather how they actually worked. Steam and forming icy pellets flew off the flail each time it contacted her blazing axe. How strange to be fighting what was nothing more than an empty shell controlled from afar, but it still felt personal. Whatever grudge her once beloved bore against her, it drove him to commit unspeakably horrible acts. How could he go this far? Again and again they clashed as energies rippled between their respective weapons. She absolutely must not contact the shaft of that thing with her axe or perhaps have its blade turned on herself. Circling in this horrid dance of death gave precious little time to think or maneuver, but something was giving. No one fights to perfection forever, its swings were becoming more aggressive and wild. Despite the frenetic action, this was painfully slow going for Celestia. Any hope of ending this rapidly was long gone after it showed just how deftly it could handle her attacks. If anything they were nearly at a stalemate in terms of destroying each other. Though both were fighting ferociously neither appeared to be gaining any advantage to this point. If only there were some other way of dealing with it, but there was nothing. She could only continue risking life and limb in an effort to finally find some real weakness. There must be something. Anything. As both continued to hammer at each other their weapons were throwing up an increasing miasma of steam and ice. Perhaps she could set the puppet on fire if a hit could land. Possibly becoming impatient to land a serious blow it was taking slightly more risks as it swung and whipped the deadly weapon about. She'd already been cut once. All this exertion was making blood run down and drip off her muzzle as she fought, desperate to destroy this menace. Finally, an opening, but not what it was likely expecting. Step by precious step while risking herself this way she'd been able to position herself almost immediately in front of the arrow wagon. At last, a chance came as it attempted to land a killing blow upon her, her opponent did not realize the error until too late for prevention. Celestia chose to knock the dangerous ball into the ground as she fired a bolt from her horn at the same time. Standing in front of the puppet she fired directly at the shaft, knowing what would happen she leaped aside as it struck, the huge reversed blast coming directly out of the spikes struck straight through the wagon in its entirety, reducing it to little more than smoldering wreckage. For a slight moment, it did not react. The controller likely in shocked realization of what just occurred by their own action. At that moment a tremendous screech issued from within the armored thing as though pure rage itself had come to rest inside, ready to burst forth and bring with it absolute pain. Now what? Ever so slowly the puppet turned towards her. A chill never known seemed to erupt from within the deathly thing. It began to glow. For that moment Celestia knew a true feeling of frozen fear. The cold emanating from within the puppet and the weapon it held deepened to some heretofore unknown threshold. The very air near to it seeming to pale. Something terrible was about to happen, she just knew from the sense of it. The arrow wagons destruction must have pushed them over some undefined edge and into another sort of madness. The feeling of their fight changed significantly in that moment. A howling sound as though wind were being pulled into the construct could be heard. Taking advantage of the momentary break in action Celestia stepped back to take a heavy breath. She stood watching in awestruck surprise at the sight. A sickly blue aura erupted through the many small holes in the helm it bore, a blue smoke winding its way around the whole thing like some demented snake having a fit as it wreathed about. Celestia could feel an oddity in the air around her. Downward pressure again. Not so powerful as before, but it would surely prove to be a hindrance. It pointed an accusatory hoof at her as it was enveloped completely, the armor somehow losing all coloration. The crests vanishing to ashen grey. "Thou art a foalish knave. You deceitful witch hag!" Though it intoned as one might scold a small child. How insulting and odd at this time. What was going on? There was no time to consider as the puppet reared up and charged immediately. "Have at you!" Was heard while it galloped right at her full speed. She could only spin the energy axe rapidly to deflect the crazily swinging ball. It seemed all caution were abandoned by the enemy in their attempt to bring her down. Time and again their weapons crashed against one another, icy emptiness and glowing warmth fighting to determine which would prevail here. She noted it was not taking any defensive actions but there was no way to turn this into advantage while she was pinned defending herself. Their deathly dance intensified further. Celestia could have sworn she heard ragged panting during their duel. That would not make any sense, though she was being pressed so hard herself just to survive. Puppets do not breathe, was he being condescending to her even now as well? This was no laughing matter, but it felt all the while like their enemies were treating it as such no matter how awful things became. Such madness riddled throughout everything happening. How any could deem all this little more than a joke was outright disgusting. "It's hitting even heavier than before. I think it got faster again as well." Celestia considered while they batted each others weapons about. A solid strike against flesh from that thing would turn her into a living pincushion for a very short amount of time. There must be something more effective against it, there is always a weakness somewhere. Celestia wheeled about on her hooves to avoid that very skewering while attempting to find some opening that just was not coming. What would give her such a chance was fleeting at best. Every move was equal in strength and far beyond her ferocity. She may have to resort to something truly drastic to bring this obscene copy of the past to a final end. "It's too powerful. How is it this strong!?" She was barely able to keep her footing dodging the now much quicker puppet. What did he do to it? The cold and pressure was slowly deepening. How far did that go? At some point it would render her unable to move if she could not take decisive action. There is a weakness. Always. She reminded herself of this immutable fact. Finding this imagined weakness was proving more difficult. Each attempted attack and swing of her twirling axe was being deftly countered just well enough to leave no real opening for more as ice and flame competed for control over the other. The same could be said of this wildly swinging puppet. The most it had accomplished was a single minor cut so far. The contact had been minor, but it felt brutal. Her face hurt very badly as she was forced to exert more and more physical and mental power to keep up with this. This may have been a mistake. This puppet almost felt designed to compete with her specifically. Could that be the case? Celestia dismissed this idea. All of these four things were insanely strong. This one would be no exception to that. Whoever fought it could've had just as much trouble. There was also no way the enemy could have known she would choose to fight this one in particular. The endless pushing down from atop was not helping matters any. It was taking advantage of this fact to make each strike of the flail hit harder. It was worth noticing the pressure affected the puppet just as much even if it was still faster than before. Something about that felt off as well. Celestia as powerful she might be was being inexorably forced backwards, only able to defend. This felt intolerable to her. If the intention was to make her feel weak, it was working to some degree. That was probably only imagination. Celestia felt something rising inside rarely felt. Was that, anger? Ferocious unyielding anger directed at this abhorrence. Guilt over her inability to slow or stop the mounting deaths all around her was beginning to take its toll. She knew ponies and allied forces were being killed all around by monstrosities just such as this, but it stood directly in front of her. The feeling was so rare for her it almost felt like an alien emotion. Something intrusive and wrong, not even her. Yet, it was building past the point where she would give into such real and directed anger. A direction for so many years she held herself away from heading. Celestia knew the kind of damage outright rage could cause with her kind of power. Her will held. The fight here was as much willpower as strength. Shaking her head as they fought she dug in deep and focused as intensely as she ever had before. Still bashing the flail away she yelled at it, each smashing with increasing force. "Equestria. Is. My. Home! Begone foul dweomerlak and trouble us no more!" Celestia was becoming just short of truly enraged as blazing flames began to envelope both her mane and tail, her eyes gleaming. This sudden change in demeanor must have surprised her opponent enough to cause the slightest slip in accuracy, causing one of the spikes to graze its own armor on the backswing. There! An opening. Her axe dug furiously enough to carve some of the peytral off. Not a win but finally a chance to go on the offensive. Celestia was returning blows so heavily now that spikes on the morning star were being shorn off in a blast of magical contact when each struck the other. The maniacal construction was forced to defend and sidestep but she was becoming increasingly brutal herself. Less and less of the spikes were left until only one remained. If only she could keep this up it would be defeated. Ever more power flowing into the axe caused it glow so brightly the very air around it was being heated to the point her opponent was billowing smoke from the helm, looking more and more like some wraith from stories from ancient times. Its actions were becoming erratic, desperate to halt her assault. Such power, to be able to stand up even against this. So much energy being employed was causing the weapons to spark and crackle as flying stinging embers of flame and ice sloughed off. The flames now almost fully engulfing Celestia and the eerily glowing puppet resisting her efforts were as ludicrous a sight to see as could be imagined. The glowing light from them both was now being noted across the entire front line. This had gone far beyond all reason. While she'd expected a harsh battle it was much more. They were testing each others mettle to a point almost never seen as their clash erupted into such a massively violent maelstrom of whipping energies almost looking like a tornado of blows upon each other. "Celestia, no." She scolded herself hard as they fought. "If I use any more power I will kill the very ponies I am trying to protect. Focus!" She chided herself as the flames ringing her and the melting pall of ice continued to fall all about from their exertion. The ground was both scorched and coated in water as the empowered flames actually fused some of the ground into glass shards. She spread her wings and dove at it with the axe pointed forward, using a pulse of magic to force herself ahead with more speed. It was an unexpected move on her part. It was an extremely dangerous gamble to attempt a maneuver like this. This was it. The moment seemed to slow. It leapt back to avoid being destroyed as she turned the axe upwards, just missing a bunch of the control cables. So close. Some of the puppets insides could be seen by now. It would be a truly exquisitely crafted marvel otherwise if it was not intent on trying to murder her. It was dented from her immensely powerful blows but barely slowed whatsoever. It could still be counted as minor success. It was the puppets turn to be driven back as Celestia seemingly lost herself to a frenzied flurry of attacks, emboldened by those precious few hits. It was only just managing to keep her from completely overwhelming its defenses for a short period before the inevitable happened as it was unable to deter the entire onslaught. The flail went sailing from its muzzle as the axe spun. Time felt as if slowing while the flail was sent spinning from the puppets muzzle, careening through the air wildly as though comprised of serpentine despair and death. The gaze of the puppet fixated on that loss. It reached a hoof up to pull forth the bow on its back and block her attacks. A bow would not last very long under this kind of strain. It was only vying to buy time and move for the morning star. Without arrows that was its only chance to stop her. The bow snapped with a horrendous sound like screaming terror itself was contained within. It went into a full gallop to avoid her, an act of desperation. It sailed through the air in a jump. Celestia followed, just short of completely enraged. Now for it. Sheets of ice fell all around the morning star as the puppet leapt to retrieve it. Too late. Sensing her only real opportunity to end this she magically empowered her axe to the absolute limit, sending it sailing into the ethereal cables as if an out of control saw blade which sliced through them like butter causing a horrible noise. The puppet being so empowered itself fell atop the flail and exploded on contact with the final spike, destroying both it and the morning star with such force Celestia fell to the ground hard and painfully. Exhausted, the flames still dissipating around her found she could not move for a while. Steam filled the area leaving a creepy haze over a large section of the battlefield there which could be seen for a mile. Huffing and wheezing heavily she lay there for longer than was wise, but could not bring herself to stand just yet. Fortunately nothing else was close enough to present a threat currently. Completely exhausted she got to her hooves and stumbled back towards town in short bursts. She needed rest very badly. If anything did attack her now there would be no contest. It took everything she could muster to defeat the puppet. An attack now would mean dying. "Don't collapse. Not here!" Celestia moaned to herself as she hurried along. An alert town guard spotted her at last. "Your majesty!" He ran to her aid, letting her lean heavily on him. Her vision blurred in and out. A short while later a few more guards joined to help her along towards the medical area. As they were approaching she closed her eyes and fully collapsed, causing doctors and nurses to rush over and get her inside. "Will she be okay?" A guard asked of one of the nurses as she was wheeled into a room. "I believe so. That cut is deep but I don't think it is too bad." She replied. That was reassuring. The fight with that one was over, but they knew one yet remained somewhere out there in the dimly lit landscape. Waiting for something. Who know what that could be? Celestia survived this encounter, but what about the next one? This was extremely worrisome. "Is it just me or are there less doctors and nurses here than there should be?" Another guard asked. The nurse he questioned looked gravely at him. "Some of them have succumbed to exhaustion themselves. A few..have been awake 42 hours, trying to help. There are more and more sick with infected wounds, serious injuries. There are no minor ones." She looked in need of rest as well. "You should get some rest yourself, before you wind up collapsing too." A guard suggested. She nodded slowly. "I know. I know I should, but every time somepony rests more hurt come in.." She said quietly. "Miss, get some rest. You must. It does no one any good if you cannot move either." He insisted. "Al..alright..you're right.." Her eyes looked glazed as she walked off weakly. --- And all voices lifted in praise and song, spirits brightened as by a setting sun.