//------------------------------//
// Chapter 12: Et Tu Celestia... 
// Story: Equestria Is Not Enough 
// by Canon Fodder 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 12 Et Tu Celestia...

"Success!" Nova cheered as he raised his hoof in triumph.

His loyalist ponies and the sole dog in the room also celebrated their favorable results. He moved further away from the smoke and then it was clear, Nova's horn had returned. He caressed it delightfully. His glasses were damaged from the experiment but he could care less now that he restored his status as a Unicorn. Among the celebratory commotion, Twilight and her fellow companions broke-free of their hold back and rushed over to the other pod denying the worst possible outcome. They pulled the lifeless body of a white pony from the contraption and knelt down beside her. Nova noticed, but allowed it because of his greater concern, his horn. Twilight cried into the body of Celestia. Applejack and Rainbow cried with each other. Her body was cold, and slightly stiff. She had lost the flow in her colorful mane, and Twilight felt something strange, something...broken. She parted Celestia's mane from her forehead, and her horn had broke off in the sadistic experiment. Twilight continued to cry into the inanimate body of Celestia. She embraced her mentor and noticed, her heart was still beating. She was comatose. But knew that the damage had already been done and she didn't have long. She spent her last few moments with her abecedary and cried sorrowly. Tears flowing like a river from Twilights eyes, courtesy of her shattered heart. She rubbed her hooves through the Princess's mane. She gazed at the half-shattered horn, felt tragic pity, and passionate hate towards Nova Sparks. One tear streamed off Twilights face, and on to Celestia's cheek. Miraculously the slight trikkle of her tear made Celestia open her eyes faintly and quietly answered to her weeping apprentice, "Tw...Tw-Twilight?"

Twilight widend her eyes and listened into her Princess, "Princess! We thought we had lost you..."

AJ and Dash listened in as well, "Ya'll are gonna be ok yer highness." Said the confident Applejack.

"Yeah...(Rainbow wipes away her tears) Were going to get you out of here."

Celestia looked at each of them, and feebly shook her head, "I'm...Afraid it's too late my little ponies...Twilight...Listen to this one last thing I have to say..."

Twilight continued to weep and sniffle, "Y-y-yes? Your majesty?"

Twilight leaned in closer to hear her. Celestia slowly lifted her head, and spoke with a fatigued, yet powerful voice, "You...must, defeat Nova. Save Equestria...Not for me...For the victims!"

She began to shiver vigorously. Then she turned her head to Applejack and Rainbow Dash, "...Stick...together. You three...must be the saviors...You three...Equest...ria's...final...hope."

With one final effort she turned back to Twilight. A tear ran from her weak eye, "You've been the best...student, a teacher...could ever ask...for. Farewell Twilight Sparkle...my most...faithful...student......."

With that, Celestia's shivering slowed, and her heart rate lowered to nothing. She closed her eyes, once and for all. The beloved, long time leader of Equestria passed away painfully in her weeping students hooves, on a cold, hard tile floor. Celestia had died in vain. Nova was satisfied with his actions. Twilight took her teachers last words in, and cried even harder. Applejack and Rainbow hugged their heart-torn friend. Twilight felt her pent up rage for Nova peek to it's boiling point. She forcefully shoved Dash and AJ away and laid the Princess's head down carefully, out of respect. She got up, and wept the tears from her eyes. Furiously, she surged forward, towards Nova who still faced his loyalists, celebrating. She dragged AJ and Dash along with the linked chains. From behind, Twilight snuck up, welding her chains and attacked the corrupted leader. On his back, she choked him with her chains. Nova thrashed and bucked back and forth, trying to shake the provoked mare off him. Immediately, Buckingham and Comet lunged forward to take her off but Twilight refused to let go. They tugged, and tugged but both of their strength couldn't break her grip. Finally, fed up with her stubborness, Bradshaw grabbed the baton from the dog, and struck her back with incredible force. Twilight ceased up her back in pain and fell to the ground. The dog and Comet held Twilight up and kept her still as Bradshaw Buckingham approached her with the nightstick. He raised his hooves but was stopped, by Nova. He gasped for air and hoarsly said, "No...I'll take care of her myself...Prop her up against that wall over there!"

Nova pointed to a side of the wall. Twilight was un-chained and thrown towards it. She got up and back up against it, scared. She had to think of something now. Applejack and Rainbow were helpless as they were took aside, trapped by the large dog. The crowd of scientists shrouded Twilight in a circle like an angry mob. Nova appeared from the middle of it. He smiled, "Before I forget Tavors, give me the injection."

Dr. Tavors grabbed a siringe filled with a silvery, shining fluid. It was the silverblood sirum. He injected it in to the base of Nova's grey horn. Nova felt the translucent substance enter the glands of his horn, and embraced the power. He laughed cynically at Twilight, "Prepare to meet your maker, Miss Sparkle. It appears that you are not, the better pony."

Everypony stood back as Nova's horn began to glow, an aura of grey light surrounded it. He closed his eyes and concentrated. An orb formed at the tip of his horn. It grew bigger and bigger, it created wind in the room, knocking papers off tables, flowing through the manes of everypony. Nova opened his eyes and they were shining white. Twilights heart, raced. She poured sweat and tears, trying to come up with a quick plan. She had very limited time. The orb of powerful energy had grown twice the size of the head of a pony. The light from it started to brighten. Again, everypony had to turn their heads and cover their eyes from the blinding light. Everything went white, nopony could see. Nova determined that it was time to release the attack, incinerating Twilight. He grunted and shot the orb, Twilight hollered as she felt the heat of the blast close in on her. Blinded, they couldn't see anything, but they heard a sudden roar from the orb. Nova laughed, he finally achieved on of his greatest goals.

The light dimmed, and smoke cleared. Nova opened his eyes to gaze at the charred wall where Twilight used be standing...But his smile was suddenly broken, into a shocked expression. There was no damage, no charred wall, not even any heat perpetuating from it. To Nova Sparks utter confusion and shock, Twilight was still standing, with eyes shut, sweat, and a bracing strained smile...and a mirror. Twilight had grabbed her mirror from her saddlebag at the last second. Nova had a disgusting look on his face, "What the bloody buck just happened? Tavors? Tavors? Tavors!"

He turned around to look at his head scientist. He was gone, vanished. Not only that, but the transfuser had been demolished severely. Tavors was standing by the machine at the time Twilight had deflected the attack. Nova and some of crew members looked around, while others remained in a surprised state. Bradshaw called out, "Sir! I found somethin."

Nova trotted up to him hastily, "What is it? Where's Tavors?"

Buckingham looked at Nova with a depressed expression and pointed towards the ground next to him. Nova and crew glanced down beside the southern stallion, and the tattered remains of a lab coat and a smoking pair of lab shoes lay there. Tavors was too close to the machine and the blast incinerated him. The grey pony examined the damage, the others watched. Twilight opened her eyes and seen that the rebels were distacted by the destruction she had caused. She rubbed her hooves all over herself, checking if she was still alive. Twilight sighed in relief. Applejack and Rainbow snuck away from the dog slowly. They were still in chains so the girls couldn't move very fast, or else the chains would clink and clank together. Twilight Sparkle met up with her allies and whispered to each other, attempting to quickly conjure up an escape plan, "Twilight, are you alright?" Asked Rainbow Dash.

Twilight was still breathing heavily from the ordeal, "Yeah...I'm fine. Let's find a way out of here while we still got the chance."

Applejack put her hooves around Twilight and Rainbow to huddle together, "Ya'll got any ideas? Cuz I got nothin."

Twilight looked around and noticed the door was still open. A clever smile spread over her face, "Girls...The door is open. We can get out of here. But we got to be quiet. Hold those chain as tight as you can."

"Then whut?" Asked Applejack.

Twilight explained briefly, "I know my way around this castle well. I'll get us out of here easily. We'll have to lay low, very low. I used to work at the Star Swirl Memorial Library. Believe it or not, but there's a secret room hidden behind one of the bookcases. It's vague, but it's there."         

"Alright. Then let's get going." Rainbow eagerly concluded.

They nodded and began ever so slowly, they ambled to the opened door or in their case, the freedom gate. AJ and Dash tightly squeezed together to choke out the sounds of the chains that locked them together. Twilights two chained allies, kept their cool. But Twilight was still in shock. She couldn't stop her hooves from shaking. She vowed to her deceased mentor that she would assure the end of the Nova Sparks Empire...before it proceeds any further.

Just before they make it to the door. They catch the eye of one of the scientists, "Hey their trying to get away!"

The sudden outburst breaks their focus from the broken machine and Nova cries out furiously, "Don't let them escape again!"

The dog aims a high focused laser from his wrist gadget, which is destined for the girls. Nova tries to stop him, "No you imbecile!"

It's too late and the shot is fired. The red beam speeds for Twilight, but she once again uses her mirror which deflects it. The laser is constant, and still firing. Rainbow Dash looks at the laser and back at the chains. Her face lights up with another epiphany, "Twilight! Adjust the mirror so the laser will cut through our chains."

Nova leaped towards the dog and they tried to shut it off, "No you bloody Mutt! You switch...this knob!"

The knob breaks off after Nova twists it too much. The laser doesn't stop. Twilight took the small the opportunity and focused the laser on the chains. The metal heated up and turned red, "Come on, come on, come on!" Twilight thought to herself.

Nova became furiously frustrated and violently tore the gadget from the dogs wrist, "Now cease those girls!"

The laser disappeared and the chains were still binded, yet red hot, "Girls! The chains are soft from the heat, pull them apart quick!" Twilight swiftly demanded.

AJ and Rainbow pulled as hard as they could. Bradshaw, Comet, Nova, and the dog charged towards them. Twilight encouraged on, "Hurrrrrry!"

"Were...tryin...as...hard as we...can Twi." Added the straining Applejack.

At last, the chains broke and Rainbow and AJ were free. They gave each other an excited smile. Twilight was relieved, "Alright, let's go quick!"

They took off through the door just before the dog had leaped for them. Nova, Buckingham and Comet galloped over him, not stopping at any costs. They all began climbing the stairs. Nova shouted back down to his henchmen, "Throw the switch and sound the alarm for immediate lockdown!"

One scientist complied and broke a glass box on the wall and pulled the alarm switch. The girls galloped up the stairs frantically, panting. Then they heard a siren and lights that were applied to the wall, started blinking red. "How the hay did they wire this castle up so fast?" Said the perplexed Rainbow.

"Let's leave questions for after girls, we have to get out of here." Twilight anxiously said.

"Agreed" Applejack added.

They soon got to the top of the stairs and turned out into the hallway of the palace. But immediately, Twilight held her friends aside against the door, "Whats the big idea Twilight?" Asked Rainbow.

"Shush!" Twilight quietly, but clearly said.

No sooner she said it, two large dogs ran down the hallway in front of them. Twilight waved her hoof ahead to assure that the coast was clear. They galloped down the hall, away from those canines. Nova and his stallions reached the hallway and seen them trying to get away. He pointed down them out, "Right there! That's them!"

The three steeds chased the mares, closely behind them. The girls were forced out of the hallways into one lobby of the palace, with four guard ponies, ready to cease them. Twilight and the girls took action. Rainbow Dash yelled out a battle cry and jump kicked into one of the guards, while pulling another one down by grabbing on to his mane with her teeth. The two others went for Applejack. She cleverly smiled, tipped her hat down and waited as the brainwashed steeds closed in on her. Applejack quickly pulled out a mallot from her saddlebag that would have been used to nail down a tent. She whipped the mallot and knocked one of the ponies out and she grabbed on the neck of the other with her hooves and swung herself around like a pendulum, on to his back and chopped the stallion on the side of his neck, hitting a pressure point, and the steed fell to the ground. Rainbow stood up and roundhouse kicked the pony that was getting up from the ground, dazed. He fell back to the floor unconscience. Twilight thought quickly and seen a bookshelf next to the doorway where Nova, Comet, and Bradshaw were still running. She trotted over and tried to push it over but she was too weak. AJ realized what she was trying to do and she came over to help. She smiled at her, "Stand aside sugar cube."

Meanwhile, Nova hollered from the hallway, "In that room! Let's go! We can't let them get away!"

The evil stallions galloped towards the lobby. AJ took immediate action and bucked the bookcase. It toppled over and blocked the doorway, temporarily buying time for escape. Twilight looked around. There were three possibilities. The door on their left from the previous hallway, lead to the outdoors, the one across goes through another hallway, as well as the one to the right. Twilight looked to the girls, "This isn't the main lobby...(She looks down another hallway across from her) Ok, this way."

Sparks could be heard from behind the bookcase. He was livid, "Well don't just stand there with the miserable look on your faces, move it! I won't have them get away again!"

Comet and Bradshaw trotted to the bookcase and attempted to push it out of the way. They strained and strained as hard as they could, but it was too heavy. Nova shook his head disgruntledly. Then he looked at his horn and almost wanted to jump off a bridge for not thinking of it, "Oh for the love of...MOVE!"

The two henchmen stepped aside and Nova easily thrusted magically the large wooden slab away. The stallions looked around the silenced room, with four incapacitated ponies. Nova shifted his eyes at two different hallways. He looked back and pointed down towards the one across from them, "Alright, you two go down that way. I'll go down the other one. Move it!"

The two loyal minions fire down the hallway and try to gain ground on where the girls may be. But instead they start taking shots at each other, "If you had killed them when you had the chance, this wouldn't be happening!" Said Comet angerly.

"Ah shut up you young know it all! Don't go pinning the blame on me. You shouldn't have let them escape the first time." Bradshaw explained eagerly.

Comet was losing his patients, "Oh it's all my fault now? I wasn't expecting any attack from them! You were the one who opened the cage!"

Bradshaw intentionally bumped into Comet out of spite, "I SAID, don't go blaming me. Yer the one with all the fancy magical powers and what not. You should've had these fillies long ago!"

Comet shook his head, "Just shut up and concentrate on getting these guys now. We'll settle this later."

-----

Meanwhile up ahead, the girls kept speeding through the hallways, evading security, dodging leaping canines, and ducking the lasers from the Unicorns and other Ponies with the wrist gadgets. The hallways seem to last endlessly. Rainbow was getting tired, "Twilight...I thought you knew your way around this place?"

Twilight explained, "Not much longer now girls, just around this corner here and we'll be out of here. It's officially on now. I can't wait to go face to face with Nova. He'll get what's coming to him...From all of us! The Princess must be avenged!"

"Yer right Twi but let's leave our vendettas fer another time, we gotta get ourselves out of here and to safety." Said the assuring Applejack. 

The girls nodded to one another and continued around the corner and came to another set of large double doors. Applejack opened them up, then immediately shut them right after. Twilight and Rainbow looked at each other confused, "Uhhh What is it AJ?" Asked Rainbow Dash.

Applejack laughed nervously, "I rather not say but I probably should. We got a little problem behind the doo..."

"I suggest you three simpletons surrender at once, or else we'll have to do this the hard way!" Nova yelled from behind door.

Applejack continued, "Nova's got the lobby covered in guards. We'll never make it out this way."

"Then let's find another way! Come on!" Rainbow exclaimed.

"That won't be necessary ladies!"

The girls were startled and turned around to see that Bradshaw Buckingham and Comet had caught up with them. The two laughed, "Looks like we've finally got ya'll cornered." Said Buckingham cleverly.

Comets horn lit up, "Smile girls..."

Bradshaw shouted quickly, "Comet NO!"

But it was too late for him to stop as Comet let out a burst powerful energy, not remember about their mirrors, "You stupid colt!" Bradshaw hollered.

Sure enough, Twilight quickly got her mirror from the saddlebag and held it facing the magical attack, "Oh buck..." Comet said.

The orb deflected off the mirror and smoked it right back at Buckingham and Comet. They shouted and got hit by the blast and sprung back against the wall. Then blacked out.

"Looks like you were right about those mirrors Twilight. They really came in handy." Rainbow said with relief.

"Great goin Sugar Cube!" Thanked AJ.

Twilight blushed, "Thanks girls but this isn't the time, we got to go! Come on!"

They high hooved each other and began to proceed back through the hallway, away from the high quantum of guards behind the double doors. Applejack ran pass Bradshaw and noticed something sparkling and dangling from his suit pockets, a set of keys. She pondered for a second and snatched them. She yelled out to the girls who were ahead of her, "Hey gals! I found a set of keys! Let's try and get yer wings outta them chains Rainbow."

The girls slowed down and halted before Applejack who held the keys in her teeth. Rainbow leaned in, "Great job AJ! Let's hurry before they wake up."

Applejack spoke through her teeth, balancing the keys, "Jus...hold still thur...fer a sec."

She focused and slipped one of the many keys into Rainbows lock. She chuckled happily as she was lucky enough to get it unlocked on the first key, "Bingo!" Applejack yelled.

Rainbow Dash felt ever so relieved as the she felt the chains loosen from their grip and slip down her flank, "Way to GO Applejack! First shot!" She screamed as she hugged her into the air.

Applejack laughed, "That's great RD but lemme down so I can help out Twilight."

Rainbow laughed as she put Applejack back on ground. AJ picked up the keys back up and approached Twilight, "Ok hold still Sugar Cube, this'll only take another sec."

"Hurry up Applejack we don't got much time." Pleaded Twilight.

"Yup, jus hold still."

There was a small lock attached to the base of the magic repelling cone that had been placed over Twilight's horn. AJ tried the first key, but it didn't turn. She tried another, it was too big."

"Come on AJ." Twilight said anxiously.

Applejack became frustrated with the trial and error of the keys, "Cmon you contrary little..."

Bradshaw started to stir. Applejack kept going through each key. She had been through about a dozen keys and still no luck, "AaaaaaaaaaJ?" Twilight nervously quivered.

"Don't worry Twi...One of em...is bound...to work." Applejack assured as she kept shuffling the keys.

One by one, her keys kept failing. Either they were too big, too small, didn't turn, different key cut style, it was useless. There were only a few keys left. Bradshaw had begin to focus back into reality, "W-w-w-what's goin on here?" He said dazed as he lay on the ground and put his hoof on his head.

"Cmon, cmon, come on..." AJ thought to herself as she wiped the sweat from her head.

"Hurry AJ!" Twilight exclaimed.

Bradshaw picked himself up and realized what the girls were up to, "HEY! Stop right there!"

Twilight screamed, "APPLEJACK!"

Applejack concentrated, "One...more...key...and...THERE!"

Bradshaw leaped forward and tried to tackle the girls down. But with one quick turn of the key, Applejack pulled the cone off and Twilight quickly shot a burst of energy against the southern stallion. He once again got shoved back and fell to the ground, "YES!" Shouted Applejack.

"Let's cut the celebration and get out of here!" Twilight exclaimed.

They all agreed and took off down the hall. Meanwhile the door to the main lobby opened and Nova trotted through, "I said, we have you surrou...Where are they?"

The doors opened and more guards moved in. Nova lurched around the corner and found Bradshaw and Comet, once again incapacitated. Nova looked like he was about to literally explode, "I...CAN'T...BELIEVE YOU BLOKES BLEW IT AGAIN! We had them cornered! (He looks at two of his guards) Take them and sit them in my office aboard the ship, I'll deal with them later. It's time I take things into my own hooves. Another three of you, come with me. I want to see to it that this incident is removed once and for all! We CANNOT let them escape..."


[...To be continued]