//------------------------------// // Chapter Four // Story: Equestria Special Forces // by Miniscule Literary //------------------------------// Bright and early, as instructed, Twilight Sparkle was on her way to the palace. Her sleep had been quite restful; waking up at this time was no difficult task. The same could not be said for her friends, however, as most of them had yet to wake. The unicorn didn't know how late it was when Pinkie and Rainbow returned to their rooms, but the seeing their doors carelessly left open gave her some indication. Twilight was more than a little nervous about her meeting with Celestia. The past few sessions had involved dueling with experienced unicorn mages, followed by instruction from Celestia herself. So far, she had managed to defeat her opponents - many by the skin of her teeth - but the process was getting more and more difficult with each session. She felt that she was not progressing fast enough to keep up with Celestia's difficulty curve, and the idea of disappointing her mentor was a very real fear. "Good morning Twilight," Celestia's calm voice wafted over to her from the throne, where the alicorn sat proudly. "Good morning Princess," Twilight replied with a smile, giving her a respectful bow. "I am ready to begin the next phase of my training." "I am pleased to hear that," the Princess said with a smile of her own. "Follow me, and we will begin." Twilight knew where they were going and why, but followed her mentor regardless. Their sessions had thus far taken place in a large, plain white room at the back of the palace. It offered unicorns a chance to practice their magic without worrying about disturbing others or damaging property. If her previous encounters there were any indication, it wouldn't be long before the uniform interior was scarred with the signs of battle. After a short walk through the palace, with guards and other officials bowing to them as they went, they finally arrived at the site. The damage that had been inflicted to the room in their last session was, of course, repaired; the room had returned to its impossibly clean, white tiled self. Celestia closed the heavy metal doors behind them as they entered, ensuring that they would not be disturbed. Strangely, they were alone inside of the chamber. Usually, Twilight's opponent would already be there waiting for them when they arrived. "I won't be dueling today, Princess?" Twilight asked with a pleading smile, losing a bit of her nervousness with the revelation. "Not quite," Celestia began, taking up a position a few meters ahead of Twilight. A sudden panic began to rise in her chest. "I will be your opponent for today." Twilight's eyes widened. She tried to speak, but could only gape in confusion. She would be up against the Princess herself? She had barely managed to defeat the last three opponents, and they were just unicorns! This was madness! As Twilight tried to make sense of the situation, a large ornate chest was brought out from the recesses of the room, almost as if it materialized out of no where, as there was surely no place to hide it. Shrouded by Celestia's magic, the chest was gently lowered into place a few feet from Twilight. It was the same chest she had seen in Rarity's room the night before; she had found it strange that every room except her own contained one. Now she knew why. "I would like you to wear this armor for our duel," the Princess explained, opening the chest with a flick of her head. Its gleaming golden contents were lifted out shortly after and placed at Twilight's hooves. "It is important that you get comfortable with wearing it if you wish to be at your best." Twilight looked from her mentor to the armor, unsure. It did make sense, what the Princess had said. Reluctantly, and with a bit of difficulty, the unicorn pulled the chest piece over her head, allowing it to fit snugly against her back, neck, and chest. "You may leave the head piece off for now," the Princess explained, closing the chest. The entire chest blinked out of existence shortly after, removed from the room by the alicorn's magic. "Are you ready to begin?" "A-are you sure I'm ready for this, Princess?" Twilight asked tentatively, shrugging the armor into a more comfortable position. "Is that not what I asked?" Celestia replied with a playful smirk. "You will do fine, so long as you don't hold back." "I'll try my best, Princess," the unicorn said, taking a deep breath. The two assumed combat stances opposite each other, their legs bent, their horns at the ready. Celestia's horn began to glow. Three bright balls of flame materialized into existence in front of her with each wave of her head, each rocketing toward Twilight shortly after their creation. The unicorn mimicked the head movement, summoning sheets of frigid energy instead; the fireballs impacted with the energy with a hiss, causing plumes of smoke to rise into the air as the two attacks canceled each other out. A bright flash of light caught Twilight's attention, but before the unicorn could react, Celestia's horn knocked her legs out from under her with one gracefully sweep, the alicorn rearing up as she did in one fluent motion. Thinking quickly, Twilight enveloped herself in her own magic and slid forward. Celestia's hooves impacted heavily with the floor behind her, as the unicorn flipped head over tail with the help of her magic until she was on her hooves again. Twilight's magic caused a sizable spire of earth to break through the tiles beneath her mentor with a bright glow of her horn. Anticipating this, Celestia leapt into the air shortly before the ground surged beneath her, perching herself on the spire itself. Her own horn glowing, the tower of rock was suddenly sent rocketing forward with her on top of it, tearing apart the tiles between mentor and student. Rolling to the side at the last moment, a large blade of magical energy extended from Twilight's horn, cleaving the rock in two as it passed. Detecting another flash of light behind her, Twilight teleported, appearing behind her mentor, who disappeared in another flash as Twilight arrived. This repeated for several moments, one appearing behind the other in a dazzling display of light and energy, until the cycle was finally broken. Just as Twilight finished another teleport, the air was painfully forced out of Twilight's lungs as she arrived; a thin, flat spear of rock had thrust up beneath her as her spell concluded, lifting her several feet into the air. Celestia, leaping into the air with the aid of her wings, extended a bright golden blade of energy from her horn. Before the blade was brought to bare, however, Twilight poured her magic into the spire beneath her, causing it to grow rapidly. Extending a small barrier above herself, she collided forcefully with the alicorn's abdomen, knocking the wind out of her in the process. The pillar continued to climb, with both Twilight and Celestia rising with it. Celestia, recovering, coated her hooves with magic and brought them down against Twilight's barrier, shattering the magical defense like glass. Clanking noisily against the armor, the Princess' hooves did little to hurt the unicorn. The force that the attack had created, however, was a different story. The pillar still pushing against her from one direction, the unicorn was smashed against the rock with the impact of her mentor's hooves. Twilight's limbs went rigid as she cried out in pain; she could've sworn she felt a few ribs crack with the impact. The pillar slowed to a stop as the unicorn's focus was disrupted, allowing Celestia to glide gracefully away. The spire of rock was now at least fifteen feet tall; Twilight slowly began to slide off of it, eventually falling limply to the ground, which she impacted with with a loud clatter. The armor helped in lessening the damage of the fall, but it was still enough of an impact to cause her injured abdomen to radiate pain in all directions. "You have done well, Twilight Sparkle," Celestia began as she flew down to her student. Despite her words, she was frowning. "But you are still holding back." "I'm...sorry..." Twilight murmured, struggling to rise. Her body ached, and her chest burned intensely. "I tried my best." "I'm afraid an apology is not good enough," the Princess replied, her frown deepening. "If you cannot come at me with everything you have, you are not fit to lead your team." "What?" Twilight responded, alarmed and confused. It seemed like a very irrational reaction to failing an impossible task! She couldn't be serious. "You heard me. If you cannot dedicate yourself to your task, you not only put your life at risk, but the lives of your friends as well. It could even endanger all of Equestria. I cannot take that chance." Twilight couldn't believe what she was hearing. She was certain it was the Princess' attempt to motivate her, but she also felt the threat was genuine. But what did she mean? Twilight had tried her best, and it wasn't enough. "I...I tried, Princess. I don't know if I have any more to give." "You have more potential than you realize, Twilight," Celestia explained. "I saw it myself, on the day of your entrance exam. You performed magic that took Equestria's most experienced mages hundreds of years to learn." "She means that?" Twilight thought in disbelief, staring, confused, at the ground. That was just the unstable nature of young unicorn magic; she hadn't had an episode like that since she was just a filly! "I'm sorry Twilight," Celestia began, shaking her head as she turned to leave. "But my decision is final." "Wait!" the unicorn cried, ignoring the pain as she charged after the Princess. "Give me one more chance, please!" Celestia smiled softly to herself. Turning back to the unicorn, she gave her an approving nod and immediately assumed a combat stance. Twilight, caught off guard by the sudden shift in attitude, assumed her own combat stance, her eyes desperate and determined. Suddenly, the Princess' glorious wings unfurled, making her impressive form even more imposing; her horn began to glow a blazing golden white color as she summoned vast amounts of magical energy. Twilight took a step back, realizing what her mentor intended. Her horn began to glow as she prepared her own attack, dredging up as much strength as she possibly could. The light radiating from the two enveloped the entire room; it was a miracle that either of them could see at all. Without warning, their power was unleashed; a cascade of golden energy, focused into a tight beam, shot forth from Celestia, while a similar attack of a bluish purple color was summoned by Twilight. The two beams clashed mid-air with an explosion of color, light, and sparks. The golden energy of Celestia struggled against the purple energy of Twilight, the two distinct colors gaining and losing ground seemingly at random as the two powers tried to force the other back. It quickly became clear that Twilight was no match for her mentor. Despite all her preparation, her own energy was swiftly being forced back toward her. It wasn't long before the energy was a foot or two away from her horn; if it completely overtook her own energy, it would all be over. She would be removed from her team, possibly to never see her friends again. She would be replaced; professionally at first, but it was inevitable that she would be forgotten. She would never get the chance to help them, to make sure they were safe; to make sure all of Equestria was safe. She would probably even lose her status with the Princess, and never see her again either. She would be cast out of Canterlot as a failure, her new life destroyed. All because of this moment. She couldn't let it happen. She did not merely resist it; she refused to let it happen. She didn't care about pleasing Celestia, or even about her own health. She was fighting for her friends, for all of Equestria and her part within it. Every fiber of her being surged with renewed energy; bolts of purplish energy arched off her like she was a lightening rod, tearing apart the tiles around her. Her eyes were a solid luminescent white; her vision eroded away completely as the energy overtook her. The struggle of power reacted instantly. Twilight's energy gained a foot, then two, then three. Soon, they were back to an even half and half, and even that did not last long. Slowly but surely, she was forcing Celestia's energy back with a colossal cascade of her own power, power that she never knew she had. Celestia smiled behind the blaze, looking on with pride at her student at the other end of the power struggle. Her own gaze was filled with the same surging white light; her normally gently flowing mane suddenly became much more turbulent, as if the unseen wind that caused it to waft became a hurricane. The torrent of energy coming from her horn doubled in size; the surge of power smashed into Twilight's advance in a shower of sparks and light. Almost immediately, the unicorn's energy began to lose ground rapidly. "No!" Twilight cried out in anger, her teeth clenched as she pushed herself to her limits and beyond. Under this renewed assault, the alicorn's counterattack slowed, but did not stop. Twilight watched in horror as the energy finally reached her horn and erupted, creating a gargantuan golden explosion that sent her soaring across the room. As the light of the explosion faded, Celestia's gaze returned to normal. With a deep breath, the alicorn leapt into the air, gliding the length of the room until she was at her student's side. Twilight lay, bruised, battered, and even a bit singed, curled up near the wall, sobbing quietly to herself. Celestia crouched down beside her, laying a wing comfortingly over her side. "I couldn't do it," the unicorn cried, her head buried in her hooves. "I wasn't strong enough." "You did better than I could ever have anticipated, Twilight. You have proven yourself more than worthy of your training and your position." "Princess..." "Let's get on with the instruction, shall we?"