//------------------------------// // Canterlot Falls // Story: Spike the Fairy // by PonyJoel //------------------------------// It's 3:30 in the afternoon. Princess Luna stretches after getting out of bed. "Okay, now to pay Discord a visit," Igniting her horn, Princess Luna teleports to Discord's location. She arrives in the living room of Discord's home to see him riving in agony on the couch. "Discord, what's wrong," Luna walks up to him. "Midnight Sparkle. She's on a genocidal mission to eliminate any who stand in her way," Discord breathes heavily. He feels like his body is getting torn into anew. "Care to explain everything you know so far?" Princess Luna hovers above Discord to soothe his back. "Ooooh, yes," Discord feels the firm massage of Luna's hooves. "I'll tell you what I know. You see-" Discord explains to Princess Luna through the memories of the clones' eyes before turning into stone. Midnight Sparkle is doing all she can to gain magic power to uplift the boundaries that prevent Midnight Sparkle from using the Mirror Pool. She killed many clones of his and many Hippogriffs. From what he can tell, Midnight Sparkle is channeling the power from the Bell into her body. Princess Luna shed some tears for the fallen by the wrath of Midnight Sparkle. "That's beyond wrong. Throughout time, we never had mass-murder such as this." "All for selfish reasons. So in a twisted way, instead of atoning for her sins, she's trying to correct them by continuing to do the wrong thing." "I'm not one for ruling corporal punishment. However, if we can confine Midnight Sparkle after her defeat, I will initiate a death sentence." "I hope Celestia approves your decision for advising a death sentence on Midnight. There's no saving grace for the wrath she unleashed. She has become that Acnologia fellow is in Earth Land." "I wholeheartedly agree with you, Discord," Princess Luna continues to massage Discord's back. Grogar's Bell appears and lands on Discord's head. "OW!" A bump grows on Discord's head. Princess Luna gasps. "No way..," She uses her magic to levitate Grogar's Bell. "How is this possible?" Discord goes into his memory files in his mind. He looks and finds a new file cabinet of another clone's demise; The clone teleported Grogar's Bell away from Midnight's clutches before attempting to remove the barrier. "My clone teleported the Bell to us before he died near the Mirror Pool." "I need to go," Discord grabs her. "No. My clones will go for your sister and all occupants of Canterlot. I have a feeling Midnight may want to come for you and Celestia since I have Grogar's Bell." "Okay. I don't have much knowledge of using Grogar's Bell. Do you?" "Yes," Discord nods. "I have my library of ancient artifacts. It will take me some time to uncover Grogar's Bell's full power." "Okay. I'm off to the Crystal Empire. I'm sure there'll be a Bar of Alliance Meeting to discuss preparations of Midnight Sparkle and her guild." "I'll send a messager to the Crystal Empire once I gather all the information to reverse the damages caused by Grogar's Bell." Princess Luna uses her magic to teleport to the Crystal Empire. Discord gets up and goes to his second basement. He starts reading the history of Grogar's Bell. Midnight Sparkle, Lord Tirek, King Sombra, Storm King, and Cozy Glow are soaring in the skies, invisible. They notice many pegasi flying and heading north. Since Midnight Sparkle no longer possesses Grogar's Bell, she declines the option of absorbing the pegasi flight. They continue their travel to Canterlot. Princess Celestia receives urgent news from a clone of Discord. It's time to evacuate. Many clones of Discord scatter to all corners of Canterlot, telling ponies to flee, but they scoff. Some ponies of higher stature are arrogant fools due to their lust for bits and power. They believe that Princess Celestia and the Royal Soldiers will fend off any enemy. When the clones mention Midnight Sparkle's name, they change their tone real quick, demanding the clones to send them to a safe haven away from Midnight Sparkle's wrath. One of the clones of Discord gets turned to stone in front of many ponies. Many flee away while Midnight Sparkle and her comrades land in Canterlot. "Tirek, go have your fill," Midnight Sparkle commands. She shatters the stone statue of Discord's clone. "It'll be my pleasure!" Lord Tirek laughs and consumes the magic from fleeing unicorns and the strength from earth ponies. He gallops further in Canterlot. The Royal Guards come into the fray to fight Lord Tirek. Storm King uses his staff to create a tornado in front of the Royal Guards. They get swallowed by the tornado's force. The alarms sound off in Canterlot. "No!" Princess Celestia is now aware of the treachery in Canterlot. She looks out her balcony to hear many of her subjects cry. She swoops down to help as many as she can. Many clones of Discord teleport many ponies to the Crystal Empire; King Sombra encounters a new wave of Royal Guards. He uses his magic to raise crystal shards from the ground. Some Royal Guards that flew got impaled by the shards on their wings. Cozy Glow watch many ponies suffering from the wrath of Storm King, Lord Tirek, and King Sombra. She has a new perspective and feels ashamed for being part of the carnage. She trots around and sees many ponies weaker due to Lord Tirek consuming their magic and power. "I can't go through with this. It's wrong. Beyond wrong." Cozy Glow reflects on her battle with the other creatures before Earth Land Wizards came into the fray. "I don't want to be driven mad with power anymore. I want to do something good for once." Cozy looks at the skies to see Sombra's crystals impaling the Royal Guards, clipping their wings, rendering them useless for flight, and allowing Lord Tirek to consume their power. Midnight Sparkle decides to visit the Princess at the castle. For the punishments, she endured due to Discord disguising himself as Spike. Midnight Sparkle takes flight. Midnight gets hit by a magic beam from Princess Celestia's horn. "Princess Celestia," Midnight Sparkle relishes the opportunity to steal Princess Celestia's Alicorn Magic. "Midnight Sparkle," Princess Celestia doesn't address her as Twilight Sparkle. "I was on my way to see you, and you've come to me." "I came to protect my subjects and to stop you," Princess Celestia powers up. "All you do is sit idly and let others do your battles. You used my friends and me to battle all sorts of deities when you were more powerful at the time. Now, you decide to fight?" "I admit my flaws and correct them for the better. I admit. I failed you as a teacher and as a friend. I gave you too much responsibility when I should have monitored your progress time-to-time instead of waiting for you to tell me what you learned. I failed Spike as a friend. However, instead of fixing things abruptly, I adjust and cope with them. You failed in that regard, Midnight Sparkle. You attempted to erase Spike's memories, nearly destroyed Earth Land by aiding a Dark Guild, and tried to eliminate all of us to restart time." "I will succeed and fix everything. Spike is vital for Equestria's safety!" Midnight Sparkle proclaims. "Spike belongs to me, and I'm entitled to have the dragon I hatched back in my life!" "Spike is not your property, Midnight Sparkle. You only want him back for your benefit. You never cared about Spike until you got in trouble from your transgressions." Midnight Sparkle's horn ignites crimson red. "I care about him! I love Spike, and if I can't have him, I'm going to change everything for the better!" Midnight Sparkle shoots an exploding fireball at Princess Celestia. Princess Celestia casts a bubble shield. On impact, the exploding fireball explodes. However, Princess Celestia is unscathed. "WHAT?!" Midnight Sparkle thought her attack would work. "You've lost your edge. The longer you remain as a demon, the less intellect you'll sustain. You are becoming your worse nightmare, and I can see you losing yourself more by the second. You are pathetic, Midnight Sparkle." Midnight Sparkle growls and unleashes a barrage of crimson red fireballs around Canterlot. Many buildings explode, but no ponies are harmed. "I'll show you who's pathetic!" Midnight Sparkle hands glow aqua blue. "Have a taste of my flames!" Midnight Sparkle shoots a torrent of aqua blue flames to incinerate Princess Celestia. Princess Celestia does a barrel roll to dodge the blue flames and shoots another magic beam from her horn, hitting Midnight Sparkle. She crash lands on the street below. By reading Midnight Sparkle's body language, she's become predictable. Midnight Sparkle is empowered by rage, and it's failing miserably. Midnight Sparkle roars and flies straight at Princess Celestia. Princess Celestia sidesteps mid-flight and grabs Midnight Sparkle with her arm. She flies down and slams Midnight Sparkle to the ground. "You've become calculable, Midnight. It's a shame," Princess Celestia stands on Midnight's back. She gets hit by King Sombra's crystal shards and gets hurled into a building. "Fool," King Sombra rises from the ground. "Do you believe it'll be that easy to defeat a demon?" Princess Celestia spits out blood. She stands on all fours, glaring at King Sombra. Lord Tirek is larger than before. He consumed many ponies' magic, flight, and strength. He uses his magic to pull Princess Celestia towards him. "I'm going to enjoy absorbing your Alicorn Magic," Lord Tirek licks his lips. Princess Celestia uses her magic to teleport away from Lord Tirek's grasp. "End of the line, Princess," Storm King confronts her and uses his staff to create another tornado. It shrinks into a miniaturized tornado, the size of a needle. "What the?" "That'll be me," A clone of Discord spins Storm King from behind and uppercuts Storm King with a boxing glove. He goes flying in the skies, landing at a building. Cozy Glow trots and inadvertently finds Princess Celestia and a clone of Discord preparing themselves to fight Midnight Sparkle, Lord Tirek, and King Sombra. She looks around to see many ponies suffering and figures Lord Tirek has consumed their power. "This is where you two die," Midnight Sparkle is done holding back. She wants to kill the clone and Princess Celestia to harness their magic power. Her hands glow aqua blue and crimson red. She's readying herself to combine her power into an ultimate attack. Cozy Glow devises an ingenious idea. She powers up and flies at Princess Celestia and the clone of Discord from behind. Midnight Sparkle sees that Cozy Glow is going to weaken them. Midnight Sparkle, King Sombra, and Lord Tirek charge Princess Celestia and the clone. Cozy Glow uses her magic to teleport the two away from Midnight's presence. Midnight Sparkle collides with Cozy Glow. "Damn it!" Midnight Sparkle slams her fists in anger. "They suckered us!" "Golly, I wasn't expecting that to happen," Cozy Glow said. Hoping Midnight would buy into her claim. "Graaaaaah!" Midnight Sparkle releases a firebomb from her hand. A building nearby explodes. "I consumed many clones of Discord's chaos magic. I don't mind sharing as long as I get my cut on Alicorn Magic," Lord Tirek bargains with Midnight Sparkle. Midnight Sparkle glares at Lord Tirek. "I want to set an example. Destroy the barriers that keep Canterlot on the mountainside. Any that didn't escape due to Discord is to remain in ruins." Cozy Glow is stunned to hear that. She heard that Midnight wants Canterlot to fall. Lord Tirek, King Sombra, and the Storm King comply with Midnight Sparkle's command. "You too, Cozy Glow," Midnight Sparkle takes flight to partake in destroying the suspensors that support Canterlot. Cozy Glow watches Midnight Sparkle fly below the city. She gallops around to see many ponies in agony on the streets. "I can't do this. I can't standby to watch others perish." Cozy Glow notices several ponies trying to crawl their way to find safety. Cozy approaches them. "It's you," Doctor Psyche sees Cozy Glow. "Please, help us, and in return, we'll help you," Blue Shield said. Cozy Glow nods. She uses her magic to transport Doctor Psyche, Blue Shield, and many doctors and nurses away from the borders of Canterlot. By doing something good, Cozy Glow feels something different inside of her. She feels the ground trembling and quickly searches for other ponies in need. King Sombra, Storm King, Lord Tirek, and Midnight Sparkle are destroying the support suspensors on all sides of Canterlot. The city trembles and falls off the mountainside. Cozy Glow flaps her wings and watches many ponies scream to their deaths. She's horrified to hear the screams of many innocents, young and old, fall to their demise. Her heart pounds while feeling dread awful seeing the city in smoke and ashes. Cozy Glow reminisces about her conversation with Rarity. "No. I refuse to be the demonic filly. I want to stop the tyranny! I want to do good!" "Whoever discovers this shall know that we took down Equestria's strongest city," Midnight Sparkle states. She relishes the deaths of many ponies that couldn't escape Demon Tail's wrath. "Where to, Midnight Sparkle?" King Sombra asks. "The Crystal Empire. It's time to reclaim our dominant stature among the low-life," Midnight Sparkle responds. "Ponyville. Why stop here when we can go to other towns, drain ponies of their magic, flight, and strength for ourselves. Once we conquer towns and cities, then we'll go to the Crystal Empire," Lord Tirek advises. "Excellent!" Storm King imagines seeing the horrid expressions many ponies will give when they arrive. "Let's go," Midnight Sparkle heeds Lord Tirek's advice. She, King Sombra, Storm King, and Lord Tirek takes off. Cozy Glow is carving a R.I.P. on the mountainside where Canterlot fell. She watches Demon Tail following Midnight Sparkle and flies in the direction their heading. She hopes to help as much as she can while remaining undercover. Princess Celestia and the clone are outside the borders, far away from Canterlot. They saw the whole event of Canterlot falling from the mountainside. Princess Celestia is in tears while the clone comforts her. "You should go to the Crystal Empire and inform what transpired. I'll call for clones to lookout for Demon Tail and evacuate ponies to the Crystal Empire. I believe they could be going after all citizens of Equestria before showing up at the footstep of the Crystal Empire." "Okay," Princess Celestia dries her tears. The clone snaps his claw, teleporting Princess Celestia to the Crystal Empire. The clone sighs and writes a letter to all clones residing in different towns and cities in the land of Equestria to start evacuating before the arrival of Demon Tail is among them.