Twilight Sparkle and the Warmind had been circling each other. Combat actions were exchanged to inconclusive results. Then Twilight lunged. Daybreaker swatted her away with her halberd, but somehow, the contact melted holes in the melee tool.
The circling resumed, this time with the Warmind cursing the fact she had to try and take Twilight alive.
Then, out of nowhere, Twilight and all the other surviving ponies had vanished.
A moment later, the world exploded in magical fireworks. For a thousand Celestias in every direction, nothing could be seen, heard or sensed other than the endless sensory assault.
It took a moment for the Mask to realise nopony was controlling the body. So she assumed the duty, making the body stand up from the unprincesessly tangle of limbs the Warmind's abandonment had left it in.
Celestia's Mask stood up from the molten glass that the surrounding land had become, slowly cooling around her fetlocks as she considered what to do.
It was eleven-forty-six, so Celestia should be in court. It had been an emergency situation that seemed to be over. Yet Celestia had not declared it resolved.
Your Radaince, what am I meant to do? The Mask asked. There was no response apart from her point of view lowering.
One by one, she lifted her hooves and used a little earth magic to spread her weight so she did not sink again. Limbs half submerged in the ground would not do as it would violate her directive to maintain Celestia's image. Mentally, she marked the expenditure from the discretionary budget. That done, and with nopony else about, the Mask turned her attention inwards.
Twilight really made a mess in here. The Mask noted so she could tell Celestia when she returned. In the Garden, she diligently started setting things right. Daybreaker was gagged and tied to a fractured pillar, and the distant sounds of sobbing were noted but had no bearing on her obligations. So the Mask just continued her housekeeping. Torn-up turf was replaced, displaced plants rehomed, and the walls rebuilt brick by brick. A long spear of dark crystal was placed beside the righted and repaired table.
Placing all the surviving pieces back where they should be was a simple enough task. Fixing the broken ones or restoring the now damp papers that smelled of burnt ice cream was more difficult.
Discarded golden blades and chains were piled in a heap behind the hedge row. Processing them was Daybreaker's job. She glanced to the restrained Warmind.
Another judgement call had to be made. Like the last one, this one was not covered by her rules.
So she thought about it.
The Warmind had not freed herself, nor did she seem to have any interest in performing her duty. There was no rule saying she could not do this, and it was her duty to help maintain the serenity of the Garden.
It took a few minutes of thought for her to settle on a course of action. With a quill, she marked down the magical use against Daybreaker's budget. It serves her right for not doing her job.
For the Mask, performing her duty and completing her tasks allowed a quiet contentment to build. Perhaps there was something a normal pony might call pride, but the Mask did not have a large enough ego to recognise that she is even could be proud of herself.
It was the approaching ponies that broke the almost meditative haze of her work. A full wing of Wonderbolts descended. The Mask quickly got her tasks to a convenient place to stop and turned her attention to Celestia's ponies.
"Princess, are you alright?"
That was a complicated question, and with normal conversational rules, she had less than half a second before the speaker would start to feel awkward.
"I am well, my little pony." The Mask said in kind but slightly tired voice number two.
The speaker looked a little relieved. "What happened here… where's the town?"
Umm… The Mask's worry did not show on her face. It was impossible. Courtly grace and self-control were central to her being.
She knew The Warmind had launched an attack at Twilight. She knew that Warmind was about to subdue Twilight when she teleported out, but she could say none of that. She had to maintain the public image of all Alicorns.
In the Bastion, though, she frantically summoned all the notes and scrolls she could that had anything to do with what happened here.
This is not my job. A part of her wailed, and against the pillar, the Warmind's body shook with laughter.
She rounded on the Warmind and then had no idea what she was meant to do. "It's her Radiance's task to tell you off."
The Warmind snorted, then met her eyes. She held the gaze and then deliberately turned her eyes to look at something.
The Mask tilted her head and then followed the gaze, there was a book. She lifted it in her magic, and when she saw the title, her worries faded a little.
"Thank you, Warmind." The glare in the Warmind's eyes made her add one more word. "Daybreaker."
Daybreaker nodded as much as her restraints allowed.
Back in the physical world, the Masked looked down and adopted mourning expression five with six percent wing droop. "Today, a tragedy has befallen Equestria." The Mask added an overtone of pride with an undertone of sorrow to her perfectly controlled voice. "And it's only thanks to the efforts of Twilight Sparkle and her brave friends that the destruction could be constrained to this level."
There were gasps, comments of disbelief and a few questions, but Captain Spitfire was both the closest and highest Rank, so the Mask chose to answer hers.
"Are they?" The Captain asked hesitantly.
The Mask had to say something positive. Even in this situation, she had to give Celestia's ponies hope. In the Bastion, she frantically flicked through the book.
Daybreaker grunted three times, paused, then six times, then another pause and four more grunts.
What?
Daybreaker pointedly looked at the book.
... Page number?
Daybreaker nodded.
Another flurry of Pages, and she had a plan.
"Their gambit saved many. If Twilight cast the time spell correctly, they will return at some point."