Twilight's eyes stung as she gazed into the night sky. Every inch of her stung, but she felt is most strongly near the eyes. A clutched belly would ease a stomach ache, and a cradled head would a migraine, but closed eyes presented more of a danger to her than the momentary pain. Her skin crawled, aching felt deep in her bones radiating pain and depleted strength. She couldn't bring herself to do anymore than to lay in the grass and gulp great mouthfuls of air in as she blearily fought off the exhaustion that threatened to consume her.
And so, she lay there.
Slowly the aching began to fade to dull thumps in the back of her mind. Her breaths slowed as she regained control. Coolness seeped into her coat, contrasting with the fiery heat in her chest. Peace, for just a moment, filled her mind. Not the stunned silence from before. Not the quiet of a empty house, nor a picnic where the wind doesn't blow, but merely the solitude of a moments rest. In the distance she could hear the roar of battle, but as she laid in the cool grass, she reveled in the moment of sanctuary.
As she stared high into the midnight sky, Luna's moon was visible through the soft golden barrier which surrounded the city. A small smile stretched across her lips. When she was a filly, she had asked the princess if the moon was made of cheese like her brother had told her. Luna had laughed, the shaking of her head indicating Twilight may have not been the first filly to ask such a question. Twilight was sure the princess had spoken of divine powers or the raw primordial elements of magic, but in her bleary state she couldn't help but think of the comparison.
From a distance away came the rumblings of titanic feet, the raking of massive claws, the cries of frustration and anger. Bursts of light came from over the castle roof, tumultuous noises and cries sounding in the distance that did nothing to spoil the sweet serenity of the moment.
Quiet pants faded as she lie in the ice-kissed grass, flowing cold bringing a coolness to her body and mind. The cold created strange shock to Twilight's body, not painful, but not pleasant either. A strange swirl that was almost comforting, yet jarring enough to keep her from slipping into unconsciousness.
'Twilight.'
The burning in her chest had finally stopped, but she could still feel warm dampness turning cold as it ran down her leg. There was pain, oh there was pain, but it had been reduced to a momentary dull-throbing sensation. Even she wasn't sure how much more punishment her body could take.
It was a shock her heart hadn't stopped earlier. She'd held on with every fiber of her being to avoid being entirely burned up by the magical storm. Losing control like that, being at the absolute mercy of magic she couldn't control sent a shudder through her. 'I haven't felt terror like that since I was a filly. He promised never again, and yet...'
"Twilight."
Another shudder passed through. This one was different, a twisted combination of a giggle and a sob. A single hoof lifted to rub at bleary eyes before coming to a rest across her face, blotting out the night sky and leaving her momentarily in darkness. She bit down hard on her lip as she tried to stifle the mad giggles that spilled from her lips. He torso shook from the effort before she managed to choke down the macabre emotion.
As she did, a heavy groan passed through. She lay still for a moment, wishing the ground would open up and swallow her whole. One hoof thumped against the hard, frozen ground. It was too late. The moment of peace had already been disturbed. Duty awaited and the task remained incomplete.
"Devin"
She opened her eyes, drawing a deep breath to give her the strength to stand. "I know, I know." She craned her neck, eyes glancing high at the base of the statue her head lay against. Slowly her eyes drifted higher, taking in the grand sculpture behind her.
It's serpentine tail wrapped around the pillar it stood atop. It's unnatural body, long and lean, stood with arched back. The paw of a bear clutched it's chest as if to contain a great belly laugh, while the claw of a chicken was thrown high into the air, the theatrics of a presenter and show-pony. It's mouth, decorated with only a single jagged tooth, was wide open. Perhaps in the calls and chants of one hawking their wares to a great audience, or preaching their sermon to eager ears, or instead, a charlatan in deep guffaw. The triumph of their greatest joke being unveiled, even if he was the only one laughing.
Twilight took in the form of the Draconequus. More than just a statue, more than just an expertly cut piece of Limestone. Standing nearly four times as tall as Twilight, the frozen form loomed over her in all his grandiose majesty. The Mad-God Discord, frozen in stone and time. "I've finally arrived, master."
The hint of laughter rose in the air around her. Words not spoken allowed, but brought to her mind by a connection forged years previous. "Mm hmm? And three days early as well? Goodness, I've never met any pony who went through this much trouble to be early."
Twilight sighed heavily. Of course. He would be in a good mood, this was his day of triumph after all. More than a thousand years of solitude meant he had little care for what he called, 'Bumps and scrapes.' Shed blood and broken bones never meant much to him, unless it meant a task went unfulfilled. The worst part was that plugging her ears wouldn't do any good. You can't block out words that weren't actually being spoken aloud.
"Surely you couldn't have been much worse for where if you had just been on time, hmm? Regardless, adorable use of the dragon. I dare say I might not have thought of it myself. Well, not like that at least. I might have made it into a bowling ball. Oh I know! I would bake it into a cake. You go to blow out the candles, but they're still lit, and so is everypony in the room!"
He descended in riotous laughter for several moments as Twilight slowly sat up. Every inch of her body itched, and she was flecked with white patches and loose hairs. Most likely from the new layers of skin that had grown over her earlier. The issue of healing magic is that it draws upon the bodies existing sources of cells and fibers. A pony who's had a good meal will take to a healing spell better than a hungry one. With so much raw magic at her disposal however, pure magic instead became the substitute for regular means of cellular, tissue, and muscle reproduction.
The side effect, besides the incessant itching, was Twilight felt as if her own skin was stretched too tight across her body. She inspected herself quickly, running one hoof across her abdomen, mane and face. Save for the gouge across her flank, which had drawn itself tighter but not fully healed, her body seemed to be in working order. In fact, several old scars had shrunk to tiny pale slivers, unnoticeable now below her fur. Several aches and pains in her gut that had persisted for years were absent, and the tightness in her back left ankle was gone.
'All things in the moment, no doubt.' A deep exhaustion still racked her small frame. The hyper-expenditure of magic she endured was unlike anything she had felt before, even when she lost control of her magic as a filly. The spell hadn't failed, instead it re-routed to it's remaining magical origin in order to maintain it's refinement process. Magical transfusions were still an imperfect science, and performing one on the fly was especially risky. Twilight had simply found the most efficient method for doing so. 'Most efficient' and 'perfected' were far from comparable terms, but whatever long term side-effects existed weren't a particular concern to her anyways.
Still, she almost felt the need to apologize to Princess Luna. Had it lasted more than two to three minutes, Twilight might have burned out from the inside entirely. Then the city would have been in even bigger trouble. The magical source would still exist for some times, even if Twilight's soul left her body. With no living tissue to provide regulation to the magical flow, as her receptors died alongside her brain, the results, while inconclusive, could be... extreme, to say the least.
"Spending a bit too much time thinking, aren't we?" Discord's voice rang in her skull, snapping her from her thoughts. "Plenty of time to admire yourself in the mirror later, Devon. Your advantage is a ticking clock!" He finished, his playful tone giving way to a dark hiss.
Twilight turned towards the castle. Through the trees and from the lofty hedges surrounding the expansive castle, she caught glimpses of the dragon's form and Celestia flying at dizzying speeds around the beast. "I have enough time." She turned to her right, reaching for the clasps on the undamaged side of her saddlebags. "Besides, Master, when I have I ever failed to meet a deadline?"
Twilight withdrew a crystal orb, just large enough to balance on the edge of her hoof. With a flash of her horn, she reached within her library, several strewn baskets appearing on the round before her. Stacks of pages overflowed from one, while the other was filled with preserved components and parts from a variety of creatures. From the top of the pile of taxidermy, she reached out and plucked a lone dragon scale. Her warped expression reflected back at her from the ruby scale. Exhaustion written into the fabric of her features, and her eyes sagged heavily. Dark bags hanging low, visible even in the moonlight.
"Do not let hubris cloud your judgement in the final moment of battle, child." The last word was practically spit at her. Anger and malice twirled in her mind, threatening to riot her own emotions in response. "I will not sit here a moment longer, because my pupil decided that rolling in the grass or staring at herself was an appropriate measure. How much longer until Celestia decides to stop being so charitable to an infant? Surely you have learned to not simply allow your enemies to gain an advantage over you?"
Twilight dropped the scale back into the pile, staring past the statue with a neutral expression. "Of course not, Master." She closed her eyes, reaching out with her magic as one-by-one, the animal parts began to rise into the air around her. "After all, it is a student's duty to learn from their teacher's examples."
The swirl of emotions in her mind paused for a brief moment, before those same emotions spiked in her mind. "Ah!" She cried, stumbling in place as white hot pain flashed through her head, momentarily blinding her. She clenched her temple with one hoof, leaning on her good leg to keep from falling to the ground as the pain continued to seize her. Just as quickly as it began, the pain stopped as the swirling emotions pulled from her mind.
"Perhaps you've learned too much from me..." He spoke, as his presence withdrew completely back into the statue. A mad, echoing giggle fading into oblivion along with his presence. Twilight glared up at the statue. The idol almost seeming to stand up just a little bit taller, and with an even thicker air of grandiose aplomb. The mare rolled her eyes and turning towards the basket. "I suppose I only have myself to blame for that."
She spared a quick glance around the wide premises. This place use to be her favorite part of the royal grounds. Well, her second, technically, but after raiding the library whenever chance arose, she would bring her collection of books out here to read surrounded by the tranquil greenery and flora. She remembered walking with the Princesses at dawn and dusk, tea-time at the pond-side pavilion just across the campus, and even a few nights of star gazing. Each season brought new light and life to the gardens, with ponies all across Equestria vying for their skill and handiwork to be displayed at the royal gardens.
Little had changed since she was a filly. Some new statues had been placed, or other renovated and rearranged, and hedges were carved in life-like representation of magical beasts, heroes of legend, or strange new artistic forms, but the soul of it remained intact. The crispness of winter was always the most serene time to Twilight, but she still preferred the colors of autumn.
Still, that feeling never left. The sight of the grounds brought nostalgic whimsy and called her mind back to better days. Twilight sighed as she picked up the crate of diagrams and runes in her magic, each page floating out piece by piece in front of her. "I hope I don't ruin it too badly." She muttered casting one last glance around. Each page held itself still in the air, as more and more arose. "I couldn't ask for a better place to die. Octavia might have even accepted being here with me when it happens. At least we would be able to enjoy the moment together." Within just a few moments, nearly seven hundred pages surrounded her in a globe. Each brimming with diagrams, lines and arcane shapes. Every page seemed unique, but the brilliant patterns flowed into the next page, spiderwebbing across dozen of others in a spread thirty feet in diameter.
Twilight spun, head whipping back and forth as keen eyes searched every rune, diagram, and marking for even the slightest error. Some of the pages sported clear signs of fire damage at there edges, a few others lines far less neat than her hoof had drawn, but Penumbra's promise had held true. That miserable excuse for cattle had managed to preserve and repair the majority of the damage, though a few corrections would be needed.
Somehow.
Small streaks of magic zipped from Twilight's horn, straightening lines, smoothing edges, and returning the minor damage of precise lines to near perfection. The rune beneath Canterlot may have been the grandest ever created, but the work surrounding Twilight, the result of over a decade of study, experimentation, checking, and rechecking, was her true magnum opus. Hundreds of dreams and visions from her master had granted her only surface level insight into the complexity of the epic binding, but just two years earlier she had finally cracked the code. A year and a half more, and the whole design had been committed to her memory with the chances of a mistake landing within the hundredths of a percentile.
The mechanisms of the Elements of Harmony, a design she alone could have never created, not in a hundred years, lay unfolded before her. A hoof clenched her chest, heart pounding within her as she took one last look at the awesome spell craft. She closed her eyes in concentration, reaching out into the night with her magic. The marking within the pages began to glow, a brilliant array of color. "Let the old ways be broken," Each of her curved blades rose into the air, dancing around her like conductor's wands. Twilight took one last look at her master's prison.
"And balance be restored through and through."
Luna smiled serenely as she began to rouse from the dream, idly stretching across the firm ground. She had been on a beautiful hillside, dancing in a circle with shadows. They had spun and danced, hooves clapping in unison as they whirled round and around beneath the light of a meteor shower. The moon had sang for them, it's light glinting and sparkling in the emerald grass, glistening with early morning dew. She had been so tired, but the aches and pain she'd felt seemed to fade away as she leapt and spun.
She rolled to one side, giggling like a school-filly as she continued to hum the tune she'd heard. Her head came to rest on her forelegs in lieu of a pillow, while her mane bunched up around her face like a starry blanket. She spent so much time chasing nightmares away and spreading dreams that she rarely spent much time her own. It was far more fun to play with others, especially little colts and fillies, but every so often she deserved a treat.
Her head still spun from the exuberant gambol. The shadow ponies twirled and chased her so swiftly, she could still feel the wind in her mane even now. She had danced and bobbed, spinning and pirouetting in a seemingly never ending prom. Each one had smiled and whispered to her, but strangely she couldn't remember the words.
The smile turned bawdy as she nuzzled deeper into her hooves, pulling her mane across her face to hide the small blush that was creeping across her cheeks. Honeyed whispers didn't need to be remembered word-for-word, but the feeling of having your heart set a-flutter was certainly one to keep.
The Alicorn chuckled to herself, slowly rising to her hooves as she threw her billowing mane from her face. "Goodness, if sister could see me, what would she say? Me, giggling like a little-" The word caught in her throat as she peered at the hard ground she still half-lay across. She was surrounded by bits of metal and stone, and not far distant was the shattered remnants of a once impressive warehouse.
In an instant fleeting dreams of dancing and humming vanished as the night's events flooded back in an instant. Her breath heaved heavily, turning to gasps as memories of dancing and playing vanished into the recesses of her mind, replaced by shock and stunned anger.
Her head whipped from side-to-side, eyes scanning the broken ruins and wide street where she sat. The empty streets met her with silence, and the air was empty save for the light of her stars and moon. She jumped to her hooves quick as she could. Immediately soreness set in. Her shoulders sagged like a pack-mule carrying bricks, but she shook her head and tried clear the daze that was setting in.
"H-hello? Is any pony there!?" She called, the only response was her echo as she blinked in confusion. She had seen others, hadn't she? Two. Or was it three? But where did they go? Where they even there in the first place?
"ROOAAIIIIEEEEE!"
Luna spun around as an earth-shattering wail split the air behind her, nearly falling the the ground again. A hideous noise, not a roar or cry, but a caterwauling scream of agony rang through the empty city streets. She flattened her ears against her skull, but the cacophony was so jarring that she couldn't help but cover her ears. The cry went silent as Luna turned towards the three-walled building just in time to see a monstrous green and purple... something, rise above it's roof in the distance. A long bony limb ending in massive claws swung high in the air before dropping out of sight.
A thick skull slowly rose high above the warehouse roof top, and Luna's jaw dropped at the sight of the beast. It was half-way across the city, but Luna could see that it was gargantuan in size. A massive cranium rising high in the air, supported by a thin neck that appeared to be made more of spikes than muscle and tissue. The heavy skull swung wide through the air, scanning the city below with enormous, bulging eyes. The beast froze for a moment, lips barring hungrily as it seemed to focus on something Luna couldn't see. It's maw opened to loose another shrieking cry before shooting down and out of sight.
Luna was froze for a moment, unable to take in what she had seen, before breaking into a furious sprint. She nearly tripped over herself several times as her legs responded sluggishly, hooves skidding across the street as she ran. She rounded the corner of the street, emerging at the corner of a wide thoroughfare and nearly collapsing for a third time as she leaned on the store window for support. Her chest burned with exertion and her legs ached as if she'd just completed the Running of the Leaves. Momentary pains were immediately forgotten as she stared wide-eyed down the boulevard.
Far across the city, an enormous dragon was sat upright on it's hind legs in the middle of the courtyard/. What was left of it, at least. The great walls surrounding the plaza had been dashed to pieces with only a few sections still standing, the front of the castle now sported a gaping tear across the east entrance hall, and the drake spat out the chunk of staircase it had just chomped down on.
A brilliant light was zipping through the air, spinning around the creature and firing of magic at it's eyes. The hefty beast reacted as expected, recoilling and swiping blindly at the nuisance, but it seemed to have little to any lasting effect. The creature would shake off the blindness and resume it swiping and flailing, desperately trying to grasp at the radiant light in the sky. Luna couldn't fathom how a fully adult dragon had wandered into Canterlot, but knew right away who combating it.
"Celestia!" She cried out, but her voice came in a meager shout. Her sister was almost a mile away, even using the Royal Canterlot Voice wouldn't get her sister's attention. Especially not with a dragon added to the mix.
The creature was a magnificent specimen, terrifying in all it's grandeur. Coiled muscles rippled beneath glittering purple scales. Jagged spikes like spears bristles along it's hide, and ridges flowed down it's spine in a magnificent waves. It's shoulders weren't squared like many dragons, but instead it's heavy armored back seemed to narrow and point, almost creating a shell that ended in two bony nubs just past the base of the neck. It had no wings, but even with such a thick carapace Luna had no doubt it could easily scale the sheer mountain walls.
Luna ground her teeth as she took in the awful sight. She could barely walk, let alone fly, and she'd hardly do any good against an full-sized, possibly and Elder, Dragon. As the beast swiped a claw over it's shoulder, it's torso spun to face Luna. The thing managed to rise to it's hind legs for a moment, leaping of the ground and swatting at the white alicorn. Luna's eyes widened as it came to it's full height before slamming down onto what she guessed was Fillymore avenue. Roof tiles were sent flying through the air, and clouds of dust billowed through the street towards Luna. She slammed her hoof into the window she'd been resting on, shattering the glass, and jumping inside. Immediately she dropped to the ground, shielding her face with her wings as dust and debris showered the room. She could hear them thumping of objects colliding into neighboring buildings and even more windows shattering. The heavy impact of wreckage lasted for only a moment, tapering off as frantic roaring began to fill the air.
Luna peaked her head out of the broken window, watching in awe as the beast rose to it's hands and elbows. It was hundreds of feet long, no doubt close two-hundred and fifty if measured from it's nose-to-tail. It must have crushed an entire cull de sac as it fell, possibly more, and it's wild lashing certainly wasn't reducing the damage it dealt. It's physiology was bizarre, unnatural even, but that didn't disprove it's presence in the middle of Luna's home. What's more, it's mannerisms were strange too. As it collapsed, it's whole body flailed as it tried to right itself. It's thick skull was currently stuck in a wall. The creature was trying to pull itself free, rather than lift it's skull out of the hole it made in the building's roof. Dragon's never stop growing or maturing, despite age or size. One this size should be well experienced in fighting, not even accounting for speed or coordination. Ildrir the Voiceless, one who had fought against Discord during his reign, had been a hundred feet longer than what Luna saw, and even he could dance through the air like the swiftest of pegasi.
The thing's blocky head finally tore free of the wall, dragging across a full block of road as it tried to lift itself, only to collapse again as a brilliant lance of fire and light struck a spot between it's shoulder, knocking it on its belly again. For a moment, the creature went still. No doubt stunned by by the sudden blow. If Celestia was resorting to combat, things were truly dire. Luna could only guess that the rainbow of light enveloping her sister was the result of channeling the Safeguard directly. A heavy burden, but one Celestia was well equipped to endure. Even without the immense load of magic Celestia was still a terror in combat. Blunt and brutal like a great hammer. Though few still lived to remember, Celestia was not well regarded for subtlety or fineness in magical combat. Millenia of practice had refined her to be the calm and patient monarch, but her massive channeling of Solar Magic reflected the once abrasive personality only Luna remembered.
An image almost literally seared into her subconscious.
Regardless, If the Safeguard was active, than they wouldn't have to worry about collateral biological damage, but between Celestia and the Dragon, Luna wasn't sure which one posed the greater danger to the city itself. A heavy groan snapped Luna from her thoughts. The beast was rising again. Celestia hovered above, forming another blast of magic, but before she loosed it the dragon grabbed what appeared to be a chunk of an apartment and hurled it towards the alicorn. The blast went wide, striking the beast shoulder as Celestia dashed out of the way. The creature crawled to all fours and began swiping wildly at the alicorn all over again.
Luna grimaced, stepping out into the night and turning down an alleyway as she began to limp through the city. With each step the soreness faded slightly, but the exhaustion in her muscles would linger for some time. The moon's light restored a small portion of her magic on top of minor healing, but not nearly enough to justify full battle with a dragon.
'If you must fight a dragon, the best place is a valley no-pony lives in, or a mountain no-pony will remember. Tactics, cunning, and negotiation are the best tools to defeat a dragon with.' She turned a corner, rushing through several alleys before emerging into the southern thoroughfare. Her eyes held on the castle entrance, watching as several guards took flight and joined Celestia in the sky. 'That, and Allies. Many, many allies.'
Sprinting fast as she could, Luna finally laid eyes on the central courtyard where she and Twilight had fought earlier. The plaza was wide open, a circular-raised mall that let you view almost any part of the city, save for the full breadth of the Castle. Luna could clearly see the on-going battle now. A number of Pegasi were fluttering around the dragon, but it's attention was fixed squarely on Celestia.
As she ran, she cast her eyes high in the sky. Soft ethereal magic drifted into the air from her horn, as she spoke in a gentle tone. "Come Cygnus, arise and fulfill your duty." She gazed high as ten stars glowed brighter than the rest, growing slightly larger and more brilliant. "Awaken Deneb, and gather your sisters to my aid. Heed my call Albireo, and summon your brothers to battle."
A cross formed high in the sky, as the ten points of light seemed to peel themselves out of the air like paint on a canvas. The sky seemed to shake, a gentle motion that only Luna would notice amidst the turmoil. The glimmering constellation flowed through the air, as a void formed in the night sky where radiant stars began to fall.
Her eyes locked onto the still flailing beast just less than a quarter mile away. "Tonight, all of Equestria has need of you."