//------------------------------// // Appearance of an old foe // Story: The Death and Rebirth of Harmony // by Charlie_K //------------------------------// The Death and Rebirth of Harmony Chapter 1: Appearance of an old foe "Whew! Last one," Spike said as he wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand and climbed down the ladder, carrying a hammer in his other hand and a bag of nails suspended from his neck. It was three days ago that Ponyville had started experiencing earthquakes. At first it was just minor, more like aftershocks, sporadic in appearance and nothing very damaging. But by the third day the frequency and magnitude had reached the point where structural damage was a very good possibility. All over town the various buildings were showing various levels of damage, from broken windows and cracked foundation, to damage that couldn't be seen on the surface. At the library things were a little bit different; being built from an ancient tree meant some degree of greater durability than the other buildings, and the magical lightning rod did help some. But for Twilight Sparkle the damage was much greater than it would be for others; everytime there was a quake the books would all fall off of their shelves and pile onto the floor. Twilight hadn't even had the time to organize them back onto a single shelf before another quake hit and shook them back off again. Finally Twilight simply used her magic and shoved them back on the shelves, vowing to organize them once the earthquakes had ended, and Spike -being a good little assistant- had procured some random lumber and was hammering boards across the shelves to keep the books from falling off again. Twilight meanwhile had been analyzing the seismic vibrations of the ground leading up to this point, and was currently acting as a warning system, the glow of her horn indicating how soon another one would hit. "And just in time Spike, another quake's about to hit. Hurry up and get down from there!" Twilight told him. Sure enough the ground began to violently shake yet again. Spike had barely managed to get off the ladder and dive under the table before it all started, bringing the ladder down next to the table he was under and rattling the books. This went on for about a minute before it finally subsided. Seeing everything still standing Twilight let out a sigh of relief. "I don't get it Twilight, what's causing all of these earthquakes? Ponyville's never been like this," Spike asked as he crawled out from under the ladder. "I dunno Spike it's really unusual. Ponyville isn't in a geographic location that's really prone to earthquakes so this shouldn't be happening, and certainly not with this great of a frequency," Twilight replied, absentmindedly using her magic to summon a book on the history of Equestria to see if it held any answers that could be referenced. "Twilight!" Twilight jumped at her name being yelled. She turned and saw Pinkie Pie standing at the door and looking very worried. "Twilight are you alright? That last quake was a really big one! It scared Carrot and Pumpkin Cake something awful!" Pinkie stated. "So far so good over here Pinkie, thanks for asking. But how come you're not with the Cake twins?" Twilight asked. "Mr. and Mrs. Cake are with them right now so I'm going around town checking on my friends. But since everypony in Ponyville is my friends that makes for a lot of stops but I had to check and make sure my really, really good friends like you guys were alright," Pinkie explained in her own way. "Thanks Pinkie. What about the others? How're they holding up?" "Well Rainbow Dash is doing alright but seeing as how she lives up in the clouds she really wouldn't be affected by the earthquakes but I really had to ask her anyway 'cause I didn't want to be rude and not ask her how she's doing just because of where she lives. Then I went over to the Carousel Boutique to see how Rarity's doing and she's crying because everything is disorganized and on the ground and I really couldn't help her organize anything because the quakes keep shaking it up. Next I headed over to Fluttershy's and all her animals are really shaken up and afraid. You were the last on the list before I headed over to Sweet Apple Acres to check on Applejack and how she's doing," Pinkie explained, giving a vivid recollection of where all she'd been recently, "wanna come along?" "That would probably be a good idea. Come on Spike, let's go see Applejack," Twilight called. "Sounds good to me Twilight, I wanna get away from things that can fall on me," Spike agreed, "let's go see Applejack." "Yer a little late there Sugarcube," came Applejack's voice from just outside the library door right behind Pinkie Pie. "Applejack! Pinkie jumped in excitement, "I was just-" she started but was silence by Applejack putting a hoof to her mouth. "Ah heard yer recollection of events as ah was comin' up the way," Applejack explained, "Sweet Apple Acres is still standing and most of the trees are still alright, but every apple we had got shaken right off, plus the windows are all broken. Ah got sent up here to see about gettin' some new panes o' glass to fix 'em once this all calms down a might." Any further conversation was cut off by a loud belch from Spike, bringing forth a large poof of green flames and a scroll landing in his hands. "It's a message from Princess Celestia," Twilight stated upon seeing it, "what's it say Spike?" "Dear Twilight," Spike read as he unrolled the scroll, "it's a matter of greatest urgency that you and the others come to Canterlot at once. Please gather your friends at once. Princess Celestia..." he trailed off as the letter came to a close, "do you think this has something to do with all the earthquakes we've been experiencing?" he asked. "I don't know Spike. But Princess Celestia says it's important so I'm sure we'll find out something. Come on, let's get everypony together," Twilight stated. "Yo, Twi' we're already here," came Rainbow Dash's voice from behind. Turning around Twilight could see her flapping her wings and hovering off the ground, and trailing behind here were a frazzled looking Rarity who'd obviously been crying her eyes out if the puffiness was any indication, and a distraught looking Fluttershy not far behind them, "what's up, Egghead? Princess Celestia say anything in her letter?" "Only that it was important to gather everypony and get to Canterlot immediately," Twilight replied and shook her head. "And how are we supposed to get there? The trains haven't run since the earthquakes started due to the risk of the tunnels collapsing and burying them," Rarity pointed out. "I know that, Rarity, I'm sure Princess Celestia knows too. And I'm sure she knows what she's doing to say we need to get there immediately," Twilight explained before turning to face Pinkie, "Pinkie Pie, what about that big balloon of yours? Could we use that to get to Canterlot?" she asked. "Sorry Twilight the basket got broken in the last quake," Pinkie replied and shook her head. Then an idea came to her, "what about your magic? Can you teleport us all there?" she asked. "I'm afraid not Pinkie. Canterlot is a very long way off from here and trying to teleport everypony at once to such a distance is more than I can handle," Twilight explained. "Hmm," Spike mumbled to himself. Grabbing an ever-ready quill that Twilight insisted upon he quickly scribbled something onto the scroll they'd received and sent it up in smoke via magic flames. "Spike what was that?" Twilight asked. "Well Princess Celestia said to get everypony together, so I just wrote and told her we're all together and asked what we should do now. If she's got something in mind then let's see what it is," Spike explained. Almost as if on cue the Mane Six and Spike found themselves enveloped in a bright, blinding light that forced them to shut their eyes. It was only for an instant and when the light faded enough for them to open their eyes again they were treated to the surprise of being in Princess Celestia's throne room, in Canterlot! "Wha' happened?" Applejack asked, feeling very dazed and a bit sick at the same time. "If I had to guess I'd say it was long-ranged teleportation. I've read about it but I've never seen it done before," Twilight explained as she looked around. "So if we're in Canterlot Castle where exactly is Princess Celestia at?" Pinkie Pie asked if she looked around the room. "Yeah you'd think that if this was an urgent meeting she'd be here after summoning us," Rainbow Dash commented. "As I am dear Rainbow Dash," came Celestia's voice from behind, causing the Mane Six to jump in surprise at her entrance into the throne room, seeming to appear out of nowhere as if she were a phantom. "Princess Celestia," Twilight breathed as they all bowed before her. "It's wonderful to see you all again, I just wish it could've been under better circumstances," Celestia said as they rose back up. "You said it was important that we come as soon as possible. Does this have to do with the earthquakes Ponyville has been experiencing the past few days?" Twilight asked, "has some new fault line developed underneath Ponyville and is threatening to rupture if we don't magically seal it back up again?" "I'm afraid that it isn't quite as simple as that my dear student, a matter of that sort could easily be handled and wouldn't warrant more than just minor concern. No this matter goes much deeper than simple tremors affecting Equestria," Celestia paused and sat down on the floor in front of them. The rest followed suit before she continued, "long ago when Equestria was still young, when I was still young, things were much different than they are today. It was a dark time, it was a dangerous time. The land was filled with many threats and enemies, many hostiles that nopony should ever have to face. But one enemy in particular sticks out more prominently than the rest..." Celestia's horn glowed brightly as an image was projected above head. What was presented in the image was something that sent shivers down the spines of everypony present. It was an entity whose appearance didn't look physically possible, like its very existence with a blaspheme against the laws of physics and nature itself. The best way any of them could describe it was a bipedal form that looked sculpted of granite and held together in a cloak of black smoke with a core of burning fire that went all the way up to where its eyes would be if it had any. "It's name is Adunamai, it's origins a mystery to all, myself included. All that is known about it is the savagery of its existence. When Adunamai roamed free there was not one that remained untouched to the horrors it was capable of inflicting. Colts, mares and even foals, none were spared. Many suffered at its hooves, many of them far out of Adunamai's way so they were harmed even when there was no reason for them to be. Many," she paused and sighed, "...many ponies lost their lives during this time..." "You mean that..." Pinkie interrupted, "that it actually...killed...other ponies?" she asked, gulping nervously at the prospect of an answer. "Indeed it did, dear Pinkie, Adunamai killed a great many ponies during its time when it roamed freely. It took great delight in the suffering of others and had no qualms about killing entire families for no reason other than having something to do..." Celestia explained. She hadn't expected anypony to actually remain silent after hearing this revelation, and they hadn't, not even Twilight could keep silent after hearing about the horrors of Adunamai. She allowed them to talk amongst themselves, hearing the shock in their voices and the terror in their statements and their back and forth questions. "Princess Celestia what does this...this...Adunamai have to do with the earthquakes affecting Equestria?" Twilight asked as she tried to stay focused on the matter at hoof and not be absolutely horrified by it all. "I'm afraid they're linked Twilight. When Adunamai was defeated, to ensure that it didn't get out again to cause more chaos and suffering it was buried deep underground, sealed under the base of this mountain where Canterlot was built. The city was built here in the hope that Adunamai would remain for all eternity, but now that seems to not be a possibility. The spell that was used to seal Adunamai in the first place is losing the magical integrity needed to keep it in place, and being aware of this Adunamai is now trying to break free from its confines and escape. The earthquakes are the result of its struggling to break free and escape into the world once again," she explained. "So this situation is like the one with Discord all over again?" Rainbow Dash asked, "then no sweat Princess. We'll get the Elements of Harmony and put this Andu...this Andama...whatever, we'll put it back in its place again and call it a day just like last time!" "I'm afraid that it's not quite that simple dear Rainbow Dash," Celestia replied and shook her head. The pony of loyalty had much bravery to her and it was admirable, but bravery alone wasn't enough, "Adunamai is not like Discord or Nightmare Moon. Nightmare Moon sought to bring disharmony to Equestria by implementing eternal night and suppressing the light of day. Discord is the embodiment of chaos and sought to implement disorder where there was harmonious structure. But Adunamai is different, Adunamai does not have a desire to end harmony, its only desire is to kill and bring suffering to others. While the Elements of Harmony are quite powerful when utilized correctly I'm afraid there's nothing they can do in this matter that would be beneficial to us..." "Forgive me if ah'm speakin' outta turn here Princess Celestia, but there seems ta be an awful lot of villains that'a been sealed away only to escape again in the future," Applejack stated, "in Princess Luna's case it made sense, her bein' family an' all, but considerin' how dangerous this feller here is didn't he warrant stronger measures ta keep him from repeatin' the process?" "Are you saying we should've chosen to kill Adunamai instead? To murder it and deprive it the ability to live for the rest of eternity like it did so many others?" Celestia asked. She allowed the question to sink in before continuing, "we certainly tried to kill Adunamai, we knew for certain that it was too dangerous to keep around. But despite our best efforts success just wasn't within our grasps. We tried everything we could think of to end Adunamai's reign of terror once and for all but we simply didn't have the strength to do it. In the end all we could hope to do was bury it as deep as possible and implement seal after seal after seal in an attempt to keep it buried for all of eternity. But as you've learned that attempt has not exactly panned out the way we'd hoped." There was an uncomfortable silence among the Mane Six at hearing how their princess had actually tried to use lethal force against an enemy. To actually hear such an admission from one that was so kind and loved was...a little disturbing. This was a subject that they weren't accustomed to talking about. While death in Equestria was common it was attributed to many other factors like old age, illness of freak accidents. But outright killing, that was something else. "So what happened anyway? What's letting this big meanie pants break loose?" Pinkie Pie asked. Celestia hesitated to answer the question that was presented to her, a look of discomfort crossing her face as she mulled over what to say next. "The events that lead up to now aren't important enough to trouble yourselves with. To put simply they occurred long ago and there is no way to change them and thus no need to worry about them," she replied simply and hoped that they would leave it at that. They didn't need to know what was really responsible for Adunamai's rising in today's age, "ever since we learned about the weakening of the seals Luna and I have been attempting to rekindle the magical strength that has worked so well for so long. But so far all attempts have failed and I fear we may be too late." "I beg your pardon if I'm speaking out of turn, Princess Celestia," Rarity said as she stepped forward, "far be it from me to try and tell you how to manage your own affairs, after all I'm just a fashionista, I don't have your extensive knowledge of Equestrian history or anything like that. But isn't it possible the matter is being approached from the wrong direction?" she asked, "perhaps instead of looking for ways to banish this Adunamai or...kill...him, perhaps we should instead be looking for ways to help him? Maybe expose him to kindness and love? Large quantities of love along the lines of what Princess Cadance is capable of generating?" Celestia hadn't been expecting such a proposal to be presented. But then again considering Rarity represented the element of generosity she really shouldn't have been surprised at the young pony's idea of trying to help somepony else out. "I commend you for your thoughtfulness on the matter Rarity, but I'm afraid it's not that easy. Princess Cadance and her husband Shining Armor are tending to their royal duties in the Crystal Empire and I haven't been able to contact them for some time now. Even if I were able to get word to them the trains are not currently running due to the earthquakes and travel would be difficult. But I'm afraid even if they weren't away in another kingdom Cadance's power over love doesn't simply create love where none existed, rather it simply rekindles somepony's love that has long since been forgotten. And I truly doubt that with all the evil Adunamai has so readily engaged in, that there is any love to be had in its dark heart," she replied. She did have to admit that it was certainly an option she hadn't considered before, and in recent time she had considered much to try and abate this matter. "So lemme see if I've got this straight," Rainbow Dash spoke up, louder than the other ponies present, "there's this massive evil force buried under Canterlot that's trying to break free and shaking up Equestria in the process. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, the two strongest and most magical ponies in the whole world couldn't succeed in killing it, the seals containing it are broken and can't be put back in place, and the Elements of Harmony won't do diddly against it. So just what the BUCK are we supposed to be able to pull off!?" "Rainbow Dash!" Twilight screeched, mortified at her friend's brashness and her crude language being leveled at Princess Celestia of all ponies, "you can't talk to Princess Celestia like that! Don't you realize she could banish you for such a lack of manners!?" "No Twilight it's quite alright, Rainbow Dash asks a valid question," Celestia reassured her student, along with making a mental note to ask her about where she got some of her ideas, but that could wait for another time, "we are indeed in a dire spot unlike anything that has been seen before in recent history. However all hope is not yet lost, my little ponies, there's still a hoof to be played in the matter," she explained as her horn began to glow again and display a different image, like a flyover of the land, "in the distant north, far beyond the known boundaries of the Everfree Forest there is an artifact of immense power that lays buried beneath an ancient temple," she said as the image changed from the overview of the land to ancient ruins. "What is this artifact of immense power anyway?" Twilight asked. "It is a remnant leftover from the last Great Alicorn War," came a booming voice from above them. Everypony jumped in surprise and looked up, to be greeted by the sight of Princess Luna descending to the ground and taking her position to the left of her older sister, "greetings my friends. So nice to see you all once again," she said as she made eye contact with the Mane Six. Almost immediately they all bowed before her, before she gestured for them to rise and face her directly. "Greetings little sister. Have the preparations been going according to plan?" Celestia asked as she turned to face her sister. "Indeed dear sister. To the best of my duties I have seen to everything as you have asked, although it has taken longer than anticipated," Luna replied, "and what of you? Have you been informing our friends of the recent developments?" "I've been attempting to," Celestia replied as she turned to face the Mane Six again, "however there are many questions to be asked by their curious minds. And while I believe they deserve to know the answers I fear there may not be enough time to answer them all. Perhaps you'd have better luck explaining it?" "I shall try," Luna responded and stepped forward to address them. She took over displaying the images that were relevant to the discussion, "as explained the artifact Celestia refers to is a remnant leftover from the last Great Alicorn War that Equestia faced long ago," she explained and paused, the look on her face stern and warning them that now was not the time for interrupting. They seemed to understand and remained silent, "the power contained within is immense by nature, so immense it was feared that it may one day fall into the wrong hooves. It would have been destroyed long ago if not for the possibility that they day may rise when it may be needed again due to the severity of the situation, such as today. Instead it was sealed away where nopony would be likely to find it even if they were to spend a lifetime searching for it. Considering the sheer strength of Adunamai this remnant may be the only thing in existence that may be capable of actually killing it once and truly bringing an end to its reign of terror once and for all," she concluded, "you may speak now." "...So why wasn't this remnant thing used the first time around if it was so powerful? Surely the situation warranted it, right?" Rainbow Dash asked, now very curious about the turn of events. "A valid question Rainbow Dash," Celestia spoke as she took over. Again she presented the image showing the land between Canterlot and the ancient ruins, "the remnant was sealed in a very remote location, far away from any hospitable area where life might flourish. Even with teleportation the journey would take many days to complete. During the time Adunamai was free the first time there was much suffering to be had; far too much for us to simply take off and retrieve it as far too many would be killed during our absence. Because of this we weren't able to retrieve it and instead had to settle for sealing Adunamai away as we did. But now with the situation as it is we have little choice but to make the long journey and retrieve the remnant," she explained. "If ya'll don't mind my askin' how exactly do we all fit into this?" Applejack spoke up, "Princess Celestia, you and Princess Luna are might powerful an' all an' prob'ly the best fliers in Equestria. Wouldn't you two be able ta go an' get this remnant thing and bring it back better than we could?" "I'm afraid it's not that simple dear Applejack. With our powers combined Luna and I could indeed travel the distance at great speed, but such won't be a possibility at this time. The spell as it is, is currently very weak and may only remain for a few more days at most. In order to protect the citizenry of Canterlot and the rest of Equestria it is necessary that I remain here. Luna will escort you on this journey, both to retrieve the remnant from its resting place, and to protect you should I fail. As the bearers of the Elements of Harmony it is a top priority that you remain safe from harm. Even if the Elements of Harmony will not stop Adunamai you must stay safe for the sake of the future, and Luna is best qualified to fill that role," Celestia explained. There was silence after her words, but not for long. Almost immediately everypony present burst out loud at the idea of it all. She was really touched at their thoughtfulness for her safety and well being. But touched or not it didn't change the facts of the matter and what she needed to do. As the princess of the sun it was her royal duty to put the well being of her subjects above her own, even if it meant that it would cost her life to do so. "Princess Celestia!" Twilight shouted, shaking the princess from her train of thought, "this is way too dangerous, please there has to be another way. Lemme stay and help you, I'm sure I can help find a way to strengthen the seal and buy us more time," she pleaded, which turned into stammering the longer she was allowed to continue talking uninterrupted. The desperation in her voice was quickly rising, and once the sight of tears threatening to spill made their appearance known Celestia knew it was time to stop her, to calm her down to a more reasonable level. Gently she placed a hoof on her shoulder to silence her. "Dear Twilight, I understand how upset you are by all of this. But please try and understand that this is the only way. If Adunamai escapes it will be dangerous here and I can't allow you to be put in harm's way. It will require all of my effort to protect everypony present for as long as I can, and there is no guarantee that I'll succeed. This plan is all for the best, I assure you," she said in a soothing voice. "But Princess I...I...lo-" she choked out, unable to properly finish her sentence. "I know. I feel the same way, about all of you. And that is why I can enter into this decision without any regrets," she said as she lowered her head, rubbing her horn alongside Twilight's smaller horn, "fear not. Whatever happens rest assured, I'll always be with you and looking out for you. Nothing can ever change that," she continued as her horn gave a faint glow. She waited for Twilight to calm down more before raising her head back up to face everypony present, "have courage, my little ponies, for this is certainly not the end, nothing is set in stone yet-" "Except for that big meanie pants buried under the Canterlot mountain!" Pinkie interrupted, causing a small giggle from Celestia. "-nothing has yet been determined. There is still hope to be had. But we must act quickly in order to achieve that hope. Now the journey will be long and hard. All of you will be returned to Ponyville in order to acquire whatever supplies you may need. After that Luna will escort you to the location of the remnant," she informed them. "Well then let's quit standing around already, we gotta hoof it!" Rainbow Dash shouted as she hovered overhead to grab everyone's attention, "let's get going and grab this remnant thing and kick Adamana's flank! Who's with me!?" "Adunamai," Twilight corrected without even thinking about it. "Whatever let's just go already!" Celestia and Luna smiled at Rainbow Dash's attempt to boost the group's morale and pick up their spirits. However said spirits were suddenly disrupted by a violent shaking of the ground, sending everypony sprawling to the floor from the intensity. This quake was already proving to be much bigger and much more violent than all of the previous quakes, enough to break pieces off the castle walls and send them crashing down all around them. "What's going on?" Spike practically yelled to be heard over the commotion, hiding behind Twilight who was projecting a forcefield over the group as wreckage crashed in every direction. "I fear that we have wasted too much time that could have been spent on the journey," Luna commented. As if on cue the ground in the castle began to crack and split before violently flying apart, sending shrapnel in every direction, smashing into the walls and Twilight's forcefield, nearly forcing her to drop it from the sheer strain put on her. From the crater that remained came a deep rumbling noise before an eruption of a black inky substance flying forth and making contact with the ceiling of the throne room, piling up in an ever increasing mass that defied the basic laws of physics and gravity themselves. "We're too late," Celestia noted in a more dire tone that before, as she watched as the black mass pooled up on the ceiling before it began twitching and descending to a central spot on the floor. All she could do was watch as it began to take the shape of the entity in the images she showed them earlier. Adunamai was free and unrestrained, and the Mane Six were still present to watch it taking shape, and in turn be observed by it and made into potential targets, "Luna, get the girls out of here now!" she ordered. Without anything more than a nod Luna began concentrating and her horn before glowing with a pale blue light, a light that quickly enveloped the others. In the blink of an eye and with a whiff of smoke they were gone, leaving Celestia alone with Adunamai... "I was sincerely hoping that we would never see each other again Adunamai. But the fact that we are still gives me hope for the future of this land," Celestia stated. Whether Adunamai was currently capable of talking or not was a mystery as it just stood there, staring at her with its fiery eyes and barely moving its misshapen form. Celestia just snorted and continued, "I remember how you were thousands of years ago, and I swear on my life that as ruler of Equestria I won't allow any harm to come to my subjects. If you have a problem with that then you'll just have to go through me." It seemed that Adunamai was listening the whole time, because as soon as Celestia was finished with her, in the blink of an eye it was at her side, drawing back its fist and aiming to crush her. However she was far too quick and easily feinted to her left, avoiding the stone-crushing impact that was delivered to where she stood just a moment ago. It was either serious or simply warming up. "Not good enough," Celetia replied and threw open her wings, the soft white feathers underneath glowing brightly from her element the sun. With a mighty flap sparks began to fly from her wings in Adunamai's direction, exploding on contact with its body in a brilliant display that most certainly caused it pain, forcing it back. Another flap brought another wave of exploding sparks, forcing guttural noises from Adunamai's hidden maw, an obvious sign of pain. With this confirmation Celestia began flapping harder and faster, unleashing a great shower of sparks in its direction, forcing it back against the wall of the throne room and leaving it pinned. "I couldn't stop you thousands of years ago and I will always regret that. But now the situation is different and will not be repeated," Celestia stated as her flapping came to a close, her wings tucking back underneath as her horn glowed brightly, "Solar Beam!" she hollered as a blindingly bright stream of light erupted from her horn, slamming into Adunamai's trunk with enough force to slam it back against the wall and keep it pinned there. Having him pinned she pressed onward, increasing the intensity to the point it was starting to cause smoke to rise as a result of the intense heat. She had him in the position a naughty foal with a magnifying glass would have an ant, and she intended to keep him there. Unfortunately the best laid plans of mice and colts didn't always pan out. Despite Celestia's best efforts to maintain the solar beam attack it was taking its toll on her. The intensity of the beam required a great deal of focus, concentration and a significant portion of her magical power. It was only a matter of minutes before the exertion proved too much to keep up and the beam petered out, leaving her on her knees and Adunamai free, looking little more than scorched after all that. "It would seem I underestimated you," Celestia commented. Adunamai maintained its silence and slowly made its way towards her, "but you have also underestimated me!" she shouted and deployed her wings, driving her forward like a projectile, her horn aimed directly for its chest. Adunamai was quick, catching Celestia's horn in its hand and keeping it outstretched and away. However quick wasn't the same as strong and Celestia's mighty wings were proving capable of generating a great deal of force, causing Adunamai's outstretched arm to tremble and slowly be pushed back, the tip of the horn getting closer to its chest with each flap. And as it got closer it began to glow again, as did the rest of Celestia's body. "I will see you in Tartaurus even if I must escort you there myself!" she warned as her horn inched its way towards Adunamai's darkened heart. +++ Trying to organize a long trek across the wilderness was never easy; especially when you only have five minutes for an advanced notice and the need to get everypony organized in that time. That was the lesson Luna was learning right now. Per her sister's instructions she'd transported everypony back to Ponyville and gave them instructions to gather the essentials for a long journey through the wilderness and to do so as quickly as possible. Perhaps she was expecting too much from them, believing that they would know enough to gather necessities like food and water rather than clothing and party supplies. More than once it was necessary to order them back to their homes to do a more thorough job based around survival rather than creature comforts; Pinkie Pie and Rarity had been the biggest offenders on that matter, but at least they seemed to learn quickly after a brief lecture on the foolishness of their decisions. At least Twilight's decision to bring along a book was based on the foresight of possibly needing to use their surroundings for formulating medicines should they be needed. "If everypony is finally ready we will begin our journey now," Luna announced as the Mane Six came back to the center of Ponyville. It was imperative that they left as soon as possible, the longer they spent here the more likely it was that Adunamai would find them all. However before they could leave they were all caught by surprise by a sudden blinding light and the low rumble of an explosion occurring in the distance, interrupting their train of thought. Looking in the direction of the light they were shocked to see smoke coming from Canterlot castle. "Jus' wha' the buck happened?" Applejack asked. Using her magic Twilight withdrew a set of binoculars from her saddlebags and looked at the castle, but gasped and dropped them in surprise at what she saw, unable to believe her own eyes. "T-the throne room, it's been obliterated," she explained in disbelief, "P-Princess Luna, w-w-what happened?" "It would seem apparent that Celestia felt the need to use her Supernova technique against Adunamai. A most powerful and quite destructive technique," Luna explained neutrally as she looked towards the distance. "But Princess Celestia is alright isn't she? She wouldn't use something that could harm her, right?" Twilight asked, both hopefully and desperately. Luna said nothing, merely closing her eyes and bowing her head. "We must go now. The journey ahead of us is quite long. We do not have time to stand about and talk amongst ourselves," Luna replied simply. "Oh no," Twilight breathed, becoming tuned out to the world around her. Her worst fears were more or less being confirmed by Luna's silence on the matter. Princess Celestia was...she couldn't even bring herself to voice the thought, it was far too horrible. Without warning she turned and sped off at full gallop in the direction of Canterlot. "Woah there Twi'," Rainbow Dash said as she swooped to intercept, wrapping her forelegs around her friend's neck to keep her from getting anywhere. "Let me go Rainbow Dash, let me go! I have to get to Canterlot!" she demanded as she struggled against the cyan pegasus to break free. "TWILIGHT SPARKLE!" Luna's voice boomed, shaking them all out of their individual thoughts. Luna's magic enveloped Twilight's smaller frame and lifted her off the ground, bringing her over for a face to face moment, "we do not have time to engage in this selfishness! My sister chose to sacrifice herself so that we may succeed in our mission to save all of Equestria! If you loved her at all then you will colt up and do as she wished rather than pursuing foolish ideals that you may somehow be able to help her on your own! If Adunamai was not stopped by her sacrifice then it is all the more imperative that we get moving immediately," she bellowed in a manner far more harsh than their original meeting on Nightmare Night, shaking the small unicorn quite forcefully in an attempt to break her out of whatever thought process she had engaged in,"are you able to do that, for my sister's sake?" she asked, her voice still firm but also much softer than previously. "...Y-yes Princess Luna, I'm sorry," Twilight replied through sniffles of sadness. The logical part of her mind knew that this was the truth, but she had a hard time reconciling that with how she felt right now. "Very well," Luna replied and set Twilight back on the ground, "now by friends we must leave, stand close," she instructed, drawing them all in close to her as her horn began to glow again as she prepared for another teleportation, "into the Everfree Forest we progress!"