A translucent, pinkish chunk of crystal enveloped the Charioteer, locking him in place. "Happy now?" asked Twilight, her horn still itching after the spell she'd cast. She'd acted on impulse, but that didn't mean she hadn't prepared in advance.
Strangely, or perhaps not strangely at all, the Charioteer did indeed seem to be happy about the situation, at least going by his expression. Then his smile turned into something a little closer to a grin, for as much as the crystal allowed him to shift his expression. Triangular sections began to disappear from the prism around him, small at first but quickly widening, and a moment later the crystal shattered as he pulled himself free. "Not a bad idea, I'll give you that. But you'll need to try a little harder, Twilight," he said, kicking away the last bits of crystal. "Three more seconds." His front legs tensed again.
Horn already prepared, Twilight fired again. Wide pink wraps of energy, like giant rubber bands, snapped shut around the Charioteer's limbs. "Are we good to talk again yet?"
The stallion considered his bindings for a moment, amused by them, then again he pushed his legs apart and the wraps ripped open, disappearing a moment later. "Still not enough, Twi. Again."
That time, Twilight went for something more direct. Her horn flared up, and her telekinetic aura wrapped around the Charioteer's body directly. "How's this then?" she asked. Keeping her magic active was a strain on her, but not one she couldn't put up with. She'd dealt with worse.
"This is a pretty good plan, Twilight," the Charioteer replied. "Unfortunately for you, it's not good enough." He tensed his legs again, pushing against Twilight's hold, and slowly but steadily he began to move.
Twilight could feel him fighting against her spell. She poured more energy into it, the flare of magic around her horn growing in size. Still, the Charioteer's legs didn't stop, nor did he seem to be struggling any more than before.
Gritting her teeth, Twilight fully stopped holding back. She pushed against the stallion's motions with enough strength to crush the castle that stood below them into dust. Sweat began to glisten on her brow, her wings tense along with the muscles in her neck. Her horn shone brighter than the Sun in the sky, almost enough to blind her own eyes, the roaring flame of magic rising from it almost as tall as the alicorn herself.
For one, seemingly never ending moment, the Charioteer was still again. Magic swirled around him so vibrant and intense his body was barely visible, enough to burn anything that might pass through its maelstrom, a force that would have shattered the bones of any other creature pushing against his body and keeping him pinned to the spot.
And then he moved.
The magic around him shattered like glass, the whiplash sent Twilight tumbling backwards, and as she looked up again, fighting against the ringing in her ears, she saw the slow arching wave of motion travelling along the reins as they rose up and felll again, moving from the Charioteer's hooves and off towards the unseen behind him.
After barely enough time to comprehend what had happened, the world shook.