//------------------------------//
// Face 
// Story: Book 1 - The Behemoth came to Canterlot 
// by Equimorto 
//------------------------------//

Stella landed on the floor below, around her crystal chunks of what had been the ceiling. No one was there, though she did spot the tails of a pair of guards disappearing behind a corner. She was about to tear off the walls around her to see which room Twilight might be in, but a door near the end of the hallway opened before she could do so. Twilight stepped out of it, turning towards Stella, without her eyes settling properly on the alicorn. She was looking more at the damage done than anything else, though she was still visibly on edge.
She was slammed against the wall a moment later, her magic restricted, held there by a glowing circle of magic Stella had cast. No more playing around. Stella licked her lips, and her teeth where her lips were no longer present, and began to advance down the hallway towards Twilight.
None could see her, but that didn't stop any of them from trying to stop her. As the rest of Twilight's friends and associates rushed into the corridor, vaguely aiming towards her position and trying to stand between her and Twilight, one by one Stella took care of them all. Not all of them were present, but it wasn't like that would have made any difference.
She ducked underneath Rainbow's lightning, and a bolt from her own horn knocked the pegasus unconscious. Fluttershy was forcefully restrained against the wall before she had a chance to try to get close, and Stella made sure her bonds cut off her air for good measure. Rarity's attempt at a shiled crumbled and the mare herself hit the wall next to Twilight, falling then limp on the ground. Shining's barrier put up more of an effort, but it too shattered when hit with a counterspell, and the whiplash left the stallion unconscious.
Starlight had a decent idea, the spell she fired wide enough to fill the entire hallway. Unfortunately for her, to do so she'd needed to stand at the front of the group, exposing herself. Stella teleported behind her, and slammed the unicorn's head into the ground. Celestia and Cadence were not targets she could defeat in her condition, but the spell she placed on their horns left them far too busy struggling against their own suddenly rebellious magic to be a threat at that moment.
Stella walked forward among the unconscious or otherwise restrained bodies of her enemies, eyes solely focused on Twilight. She had her horn ready, and her breathing picked up as she got closer. She grit her teeth as her leg screamed in pain, forced herself to push forward as her vision suddenly clouded and a headache split her skull, did her best to ignore the ache in her chest. She stood in front of Twilight, raised herself so her front hooves were on either side of the mare, and prepared to strike.
Only then did she finally notice the one she'd captured was merely a puppet.