//------------------------------// // Chapter 7 // Story: Legend of Celestia // by Crafter //------------------------------// A/N: the story gets darker from this point on. If any of you think that I should bump up the rating too teen, I will not hesitate to do so. It surprisingly didn’t take Valor and Guiding Light very long to find Iron Curtain and Hang Ten. “We found the entrance!” Guiding Light exclaimed once she saw her cousin at the end of the hall. “It’s in the garden out back.” “I saw.” Iron Curtain stated. “We were just on our way over to investigate it.” “Any idea where Ci’oa and Kulaan are?” Valor asked. “No idea bro,” Hang Ten replied. His laid back attitude returning “haven't seen them since we split up.” “We’d better start looking then.” Guiding Light suggested. “I saw them take the hallway on the left side of the main room, we should start looking there.” Everyone nodded and made their way to the main room to look for their companions. *** Meanwhile, on the northern Equestria border: a division of Equestrian soldiers patrolled the border. The northern border didn’t neighbor any nations; it was the end of Equestrian expansion into the frozen lands. A few of the unicorns and pegasi stationed there were huddled around a campfire, drinking vodka and playing cards. “[Why are we guarding this border anyway?]” one of the rookie Stalliongrad pegasi asked, his Canterlot accent very present. “[I mean, what are the odds of an attacking force surviving in this weather? The griffons tried it five hundred years ago, and boy was that a failure.]” “[Napoleon Born of Heart is nothing compared to the force we now face; we’re fighting an army created by dark magic.]” The commanding officer stated; he was a burly unicorn covered in battle scars. “[They were created with the sole purpose of our annihilation.]” The rookie took a swig of vodka, “[Doesn’t mean their immune to the extreme cold like we northern ponies are.]” He received a shove from the pegasus veteran next to him. “[We’re not immune to the cold you dumb mule, we have a higher tolerance. We don’t bring the vodka just because it’s good for the soul; it’s also good for a freezing body.]” “[I’ll drink to that.]” The senior officer said, raising a bottle with his magic. As the soldiers drank a toast to the divine nectar that was vodka, the ever present blizzard vanished entirely. *** At Canterlot, Celestia was sitting at the dining table enjoying a nice dessert. She used her fork to shave off a bite-sized piece of cake, mouth salivating as she brought it up. Suddenly there was a pop as Celestia put the cake into her mouth. Expecting to taste the rich chocolate, her tongue was greeted with the sensation of the most wretched food in existence: bananas. Celestia spat the vile fruit out of her mouth and tried to scrape the remains off her tongue. She hated bananas with a passion. Discord poofed next to the sun princess, laughing so hard he needed support. “Th-that was priceless!” He managed to wheeze. “I do enjoy our quality time together.” Celestia glared at the draconequus as he started laughing again. “Say Discord.” She slowly started. “What is it my dear? Are you going to throw a little tantrum?” Discord cooed, he snapped his fingers and a foal’s bonnet appeared on Celestia’s head. She threw the bonnet in Discord’s face. “No, I just had a simple question.” A wicked smile growing on her face as she picked up the banana that was once her cake. “Do you like bananas?” Discord’s eyes shot open. “Uh oh…” “Aw is the ‘big strong Discord’ afraid of a banana?” Celestia teased in a baby voice. “Celestia, stop and listen.” Discord said worriedly. Celestia put the banana down and closed her eyes, listening to the flow of the earth’s magic. They snapped back open, pupils tiny and ears plastered to her skull. “You feel it now right?” Discord asked; almost as frightened as Celestia. The Princess of the Sun slowly nodded, too afraid to speak. “I need to get some things ready. I'm bringing Luna in to keep you company in my place.” Discord snapped his fingers, with a pop and a flash, he was gone and Luna was standing in his place. “How did I get here?” Luna asked. She looked over to see Celestia frozen in fear. “Tia? What's wrong?” “Listen…” She whispered. Luna did as her sister asked and closed her eyes. Instantly, they snapped back open. “Tia, you need to calm down, he’s all the way at the northern border.” Celestia’s expression didn’t change, Luna wasn’t sure her sister had even heard her. Before the Princess of the Night could say anything else, Celestia spoke. “We’re doomed, we’re all going to die.” A tear ran down her porcelain white coat and onto the floor below. “Tia? We’re not going to die! Do you hear me?!” Luna yelled, trying to shake some sense into her older sister. Celestia refused to acknowledge her. “Maybe now I’ll get to see Tranquility again…” That was the last straw. Luna drew a foreleg behind her head, drawing upon all her earth pony strength, and swung hard. The following slap resonated throughout the dining hall, Celestia remained standing, but she was now looking far to her left. The white alicorn slowly looked back at Luna, bringing a hoof to her cheek. “Th-thank you my dear sister, I- I needed that.” The midnight blue alicorn embraced her older sister tightly, trying not to cry. “That’s what I'm here for Tia, I have no intention of breaking my promise to our real father, especially not now.” “He would be very proud of you right now; it warms my aching heart to see that you still honor his teachings.” Luna sniffed back a few tears. “Like I could ever forget that slave driver.” She said, trying to brighten the mood. “He would wake me up at the crack of dusk to raise the moon every night.” The two alicorn sisters laughed, recalling old stories from their childhood. *** “[What happened to the wind?]” The rookie asked cautiously. “[Not sure.]” The veteran replied. “[What do you think Cap? Could it be magic?]” The captain’s horn lit up a bright red, scanning the area for interfering magic. He ended the spell, puzzled. “[I’ve never felt anything like it before, put the base on high alert.]” The older pegasus saluted and took off towards the command building. Not a moment later, a siren blared. “[This is not a drill. Repeat, this is not a drill. All personnel report to your stations now.]” Pegasi scrambled out of the many barracks that lined the southern wall towards the armory to get their weapons, some were still struggling to put their armor back on. The unicorns however, had no trouble putting their armor on and went straight to the wall. After the initial chaos of the siren, the entire base was on high alert. Pegasi patrolling the now calm sky and unicorns standing on the stone wall, the captain made his way to the side opposite of Equestria and joined his men on the wall. “[Steady!]” He yelled, not needing magic to amplify his voice. In the distance, the dull roar of countless hoofsteps clad in armor echoed across the tundra. “[I see them!]” The rookie from earlier reported. “[I’ve never seen so many before!]” “[How many and how far off are they private?!]” “[A region easy,]” That was over a million ponies! “[I’d say they're about-]” Before the young pegasus could finish his estimate, a dark red beam of energy struck his chest, exiting out his back. He looked down at the fresh hole in this chest, started to whimper, then dropped from the sky like a brick; the first fatality of the war that was about to wage across Equestria. The remaining pegasi quickly dove out of the sky to avoid being shot; one pegasus retrieved the body of his fallen comrade and brought it back to the base. “[He’s gone. I'm sorry.]” The captain told the pegasus who held his brother in his arms tightly, doing his best not to cry. “[I’ll make sure he gets a memorial in the Canterlot Sculpture Garden when this is over.]” “[H-he can’t be dead…]” The pegasus sniffed. “[I promised his wife in Canterlot I’d bring him home safely.]” The captain put a reassuring hoof on the private’s shoulder. “[He isn't truly dead; his name will live on throughout the ages. Your brother will be remembered as a hero for all eternity.]” He perked his ear towards the advancing army. “[By the sound of it, I’d say I have time to make the phone call to Canterlot to report the first death. I know Celestia will have a statue of him constructed.]” He fixed the quivering private with a glare. “[You are hereby relieved of duty. Pack your things and fly hard for Stalliongrad, you don’t have much time.]” He softened his expression and smiled. “[Don’t worry my boy; I’ll break the news to his wife after I'm done with Canterlot. It was an honor serving with you son.]” The captain finished with a salute. “[Thanks dad, I love you.]” He returned his father’s salute and gave him one last farewell hug. “[I love you too son, now hurry, you don’t have time.]” His son let go, retrieved his brother’s dog tags, and flew off. With his surviving kin safe from danger, the captain made his way to the command building to make a few phone calls while he had the time. Along the way, the soldiers gave their captain approving nods and pats on the shoulder, silently telling him that he had done the right thing. *** Celestia and Luna were still in the dining hall, recalling old stories when one of the attendants timidly walked in. “Um… You’re Highness?” She quietly asked. Both sisters stopped to catch their breath. “Yes, what is it?” Celestia asked warmly. The attendant gulped, gathering all of her willpower. “Fort Canter just called…” Celestia and Luna sighed; they knew what the call was about. “They reported in the approaching army, but also the first death….” Luna cast a glance towards her sister. “I’ll take it from here sister.” Silently thanking her younger sister, Celestia left the room. “Who was he?” Luna asked firmly. “H-he was one of the air patrol pegasi. He was shot down gathering intelligence.” The attendant was trying not to cry. “Did you know him?” Luna had adopted a much kinder tone upon seeing her distress. The attendant only nodded, if she opened her mouth, she would lose control. “Was he family?” The attendant shook her head then looked at the floor with regret in her eyes. Luna gave her a warm smile and gave the mare a comforting embrace. “I’ll be sure he is properly remembered, but he would not like to see his mare live a life of sadness. Why don’t you take the next few days off?” The attendant sniffed back tears and nodded; she made her way home after being released by the Night Princess. *** As the region of small, twisted, blackened alicorns came into view, the unicorns on the wall entered a battle pose. They were horribly outnumbered, but the ponies of Fort Canter had something the dark army didn’t, something worth fighting for. The unicorns stood firm, the pegasi crouched below the wall ready for rapid takeoff. As their enemy drew closer, the blood red of the evil eyes came into view, showing no hint of mercy or humanity. “[Hold your ground!]” The captain shouted as the force drew closer, the ground beginning to shake with each approaching step. Suddenly a dull sound that was a mixture of a hum and a buzz was heard to the south, a few of the pegasi looked back to see if they could spot the source. A group of small winged, metal, tubes with a transparent disk at the front descended from the clouds above. Their wings did not flap, being propelled by an unseen force. As they made their slow approach, the humming increased in volume. Before the captain could give the order to intercept, Discord popped next to him. The draconequus was wearing the uniform of an Equestrian sky commander; Discord gave a salute to the captain. “[I am here to assist you friend, those fighters are under my command.]” The captain returned the salute. “[We could use all the help we can get. What are those anyway?]” The spirit of chaos smiled slyly. “[Creations of war from a different dimension, modified to be operated by my chaos magic.]” The airborne war machines whizzed overhead towards their foe, the humming quickly becoming a roar as one hundred of them zoomed by. “[Go go go! Follow them into battle!]” The captain ordered the pegasi. “[And whatever you do,]” Discord warned them “[don’t ever get between them and their targets, they have a nasty sting.]” The dark army stopped and some took flight to engage their attackers. Discord’s machines let out a series of rapid-fire sounds as two jets of fire appeared behind the transparent disk at the front, many of the dark alicorns fell from the sky as they were struck by hundreds of unseen projectiles. The metal flyers broke formation to engage their foe as they did the same, trying to strike them with powerful bursts of magic. As the chaotic battle waged on in the sky, the force that remained on the ground marched on. “[Hold your fire!]” The captain shouted. The unicorns on the wall shifted about in anticipation, horns aglow. The army continued its advance, even as their comrades fell to the ground before them. They marched over dead bodies and the burning metal husks of Discord’s machines as they were slowly taken down, hate burning in their eyes. “[FIRE AT WILL!!!]” Suddenly, a cascade multicolored bolts of magic were hurled at the enemy. Discord tried to summon his ground force, but something was blocking his magic. He tried his simplest trick, conjuring cotton candy clouds. No luck with that either, something was very wrong. As Majora’s army returned fire, Discord was forced to take cover below the wall due to his lack of magic. Suddenly he felt a familiar presence; one he hoped would be off somewhere planning. Majora was on the field, blocking his magic. “[Captain!]” Discord called. “[Prepare for the fight of your life.]” The captain gave Discord an odd look. “[What do you mean?]” “[He’s here.]” “[What? Who's he-]” He stopped mid-sentence as he realized who Discord meant. He grew a wicked smile. “[Then we shall give him a fight worthy of remembrance.]” He galloped off to the command building, for what he did not say. Discord snapped his fingers and swapped to normal magic; one of the benefits to being a spirit was that he could use all four types of magic. The antlers on his head flared up a sickly yellow as he unleashed his own volley of magical bolts. Majora’s army continued to advance, unhindered by the magical bombardment. Even as the burning metal skeletons of Discords machines fell down upon them, taking out a few dozen when they violently crashed. In the midst of the sea of alicorns, one stood tall over the others. His body in the flesh, eyes fixing discord with everlasting hate. Majora took flight, Discord launched up to the sky to meet him in battle. Without the aid of his chaos magic, the battle was surely lost, but as the captain said: he was going to make it worthy of remembrance. Discord summoned a force-field of yellow magic as Majora summoned his own blood red shield, they collided with such force that a shock wave erupted from the impact. They traded shots of powerful magic, each trying to impale the other. As Discord and Majora continued their aerial skirmish, the fort below was quickly overrun. The fort had been lost and the army was free to continue its march into Equestria, but before they could get any farther into Equestria, the fort exploded into a white ball of energy, leaving a large green mushroom cloud in it’s wake. It was a balefire bomb, the first megaspell to be detonated in history.