Renaissance Pony

by Dafaddah

The Geometry of Magic

Starswirl the Bearded lit a small magelight, revealing the inside of his apartments in Everfree Castle. Clover had teleported with him and was busily energizing the several lamps in his teacher’s abode. “Thank you lad,” said the elder unicorn. He proceeded warily to the closet next to the entrance, where he slowly doffed and hung his hat and cloak.

Finished with the lights, Clover placed some cushions next to the dining table. On it lay several large platters of cut hay, carrots and even some daisies and potatoes. Clover smacked his lips. “With the the three-houses so widespread, somepony is always leaving you treats!” He grinned at the sight. “And now that the unicorn Estates General has confirmed Princess Platinum as regent we should soon be able to get the new Equine Assembly elected and operational.” He lost his smile as his teacher approached and wearily sat on the cushion. The older stallion did not even look at the delectable offering.

“Maestro,” said Clover, “you’ve been brooding ever since the Estates General meeting.” His ears drooped as he focused on his teacher. “You should be celebrating the vote and your appointment, but something obviously burdens your heart. Pray tell me, what is it?”

Starswirl took a deep breath. His gaze met Clover's, a bittersweet smile on his lips and sadness in his eyes. “My student, and my friend! Indeed I cannot hide my thoughts from you, nor do I wish to do so.” Vegetables hovered momentarily as he began to fill both their plates. “Eat up, lad.” He gestured to the plates and paused a moment as he nibbled a carrot. “Clover, I... have an admission to make.” He began then hesitated. Clover chewed thoughtfully on some hay, letting Starswirl take the time he needed. “The Princess would have lost the vote tonight, had I not been there to support her.” There was both sadness and fear in the elder unicorn’s expression.

“Maestro," replied Clover, "I saw the ballot fly towards the Yay basket. It was not a close vote.”

“That’s because I pushed it there.” Starswirl hung his head in shame.

Clover smiled sheepishly. “It's hard to believe a single unicorn could make such a difference to the vote, even you.” His tone was jocular, but his eyes betrayed his concern. They widened in surprise as a single potato levitated into the air above the table. He took in another mouthful of hay.

“Lad, do me a favour and try to displace this tuber in any direction. Use all the strength at your command.”

Clover furrowed his brow at the strange request. Seeing that Starswirl was serious, he swallowed the hay and focused his magical sense on the potato which continued hovering in perfect immobility. His ears lowered as he concentrated more fully, still with no effect. Clover then closed his eyes. Sweat began to bead his forehead, and his breath grew quick. Finally he clenched his teeth and visibly trembled with the effort. Still the vegetable hovered serenely.

Clover opened his eyes and looked at Starswirl in disbelief as his teacher nonchalantly downed some daisies, poured himself and his student water from a pitcher, all the while holding the potato in an iron grip. He tilted his head to one side in wonder. “Maestro, just how powerful are you?”

“Princess Luna says that in her estimation my telekinetic strength approaches several percent of that of her sister Princess Celestia. This would make me by a fair margin the most powerful telekinetic unicorn she has ever tested. She accredits my origins, of which I must tell you more sometimes, lad. That much I owe you.” He paused and furrowed his brow. “But that is only part of the story. Powerful as I am, the opposition would still have prevailed. No, I understood the rules of the Unicorn Estates General before I cast my vote. Power isn't the issue. You see Clover, I..." he lowered his head in shame, "... I cheated.”

Clover frowned in confusion. “How can you cheat, Maestro? The sum of the magical power of the voters pushes the ballot towards one basket or the other.” He scratched his chin with a hoof. “Although there was that one time when Solly the Silly magically shrunk and ate the ballot. The vote was resolved only when Solly himself was dumped into the Neigh basket.” Clover stuffed spinach greens into his mouth.

“Were that this be such a case.” The barest shadow of a grin graced Starswirl’s muzzle, if only for a moment. “Lad, I used the principles of mechanics with magic. I forced the vote the same way I keep that potato in place: I constructed frame of magical segments braced against the beams of this room. As with a pyramid of sticks, the construct is much stronger than its individual segments. In the case of the vote, I created a series of magical levers, each one amplifying the strength of the previous one. It’s amazing what you can do in the absence of friction.”

Clover stopped chewing as he considered the implications of his teacher’s admission. “Buth...” he started to say, spraying his plate with partly chewed spinach, “thaths...”

“Cheating!” interrupted Starswirl. “Yes, I know. And I’m ashamed of what I’ve done. But lad, that’s not the worst of it.” He looked Clover in the eyes. “I estimate Princess Platinum had the support of maybe a third of the unicorns at the Estates General.” He took a deep breath. “Clover, there will be a price to pay for forcing these decisions on so many, and I fear their reaction to losing the vote. I urge you to contact Princess Platinum and strongly recommend that she exercise great caution over the coming days. I will do so the same with their majesties Celestia and Luna.”

Clover swallowed and looked down at his plate, his appetite suddenly quite diminished.

Lord Beryl looked up at the moon. The perfect hour was upon them to open the gate to Tartarus.

To erect the opening in the Everfree Forest they had chosen a large clearing which afforded them just enough space to marshal the monsters that would emerge. He smiled at the prospect. They had the perfect plan to distract the guardian of Tartarus, Cerberus, and both of the alicorn princesses should they somehow become aware of the cabal’s activities.

He approached the circle of large stones his unicorn brethren had placed near one edge of the clearing. These had been invested with powerful spells and were covered with runes placed there to contain their energies. Beryl reached the center of the circle. As he closed his eyes a dark violet glow began to emanate from his horn, and then faltered as a loud voice cried out “STOP!”

Lord Beryl opened his eyes and turned towards the sound. “You!” he said through clenched teeth. A steel grey unicorn mare stood at the forest’s edge. With an angry whip of her tail she strode into the circle of stones.

“Yes, me,” said Princess Platinum with a sneer.  Her eyes had narrowed to slits and her ears were flat against the back of her skull. “It appears you have decided to ignore the ruling of the Estates General and disobeyed me. Well, Beryl, once I could forgive but not twice. What have you got to say for yourself?”

The stallion at the center of the ring merely stamped a hoof. “Your interruption of these proceedings is unwelcome, Princess.” He smiled. “We know how you used that foreigner to imbalance the vote in your favour, Princess. We deplore such tactics. They do not reflect well upon your character.” He grinned at the princess mildly, and stamped his hoof again twice.

Platinum raised an eyebrow. “Then I suspect you will not approve of this either.” Her horn glowed brightly as she built energy for a spell. Her attention totally focused on Lord Beryl, she did not notice as over one hundred unicorns stepped out of the forest and into the clearing. Her spell fizzled above her horn as it was captured by their combined will. With a look of surprised anger she hissed at the mob and its leader. “How dare you!”

“Easily, Princess,” said Beryl. He gestured with a hoof. Platinum’s young face showed outrage as she was pushed roughly onto her side. The expression turned to alarm when a rope wound itself around her legs and a blindfold covered her eyes. Then her body surged into spasms as she felt the ultimate violation of any unicorn: an iron ring was thrust over her horn rendering her magically impotent. Speechless, shock and rage warred for what little he could see of her face, as she pulled against her bindings and struggled thus in vain until a spell rendered her unconscious.

Lord Beryl looked down upon her immobile form. “It’s such a pity that young ponies these days have forgotten their place. Take her to the basement of my manor, Lamplight, I still have much to do here.” He turned away as his lieutenant levitated the sleeping princess from the circle of stones, the two disappearing in a flash of magic. Beryl’s horn resumed its glow, and with it the runes on the stones blazed into purple fire.

At dawn there were a good fifty ponies assembled at the mouth of the Canterlot caves for transport to Ponyville. Pegasus drawn wagons awaited, the ponies chit-chatting amiably until the official time of departure arrived.

Hydrangea and Cornflower were there. He had surprised her by showing up accompanied by a pretty young pegasus mare with a yellow coat and a pale blue mane. Her name was Dawn Breeze and she was one of Cornflower’s partners from his three-house, explained her brother with a blush. Hydrangea tried not to smirk as the two avoided standing too close to each other, and kept exchanging half-hidden smiles and secret gazes. The only reason that they were not embarrassingly obvious were the twenty-odd other mixed-tribe couples attempting the same fiction, with similar results.

“Hmm. Only eight unicorns amongst all these ponies,” said Hydrangea. “I would have thought more would show up.”

“Who needs them, Angie?” retorted her brother. She raised an eyebrow, which was usually sufficient to unnerve her middle brother. “I mean, so many of them are against mixed tribe families.” He explained with a sheepish expression. “We don’t want anypony critical to the very idea of Ponyville on this trip now, do we?” Again his gaze wandered to his pegasus companion.

“Still, I would have expected more to show up,” said Hydrangea.

“Give them time, Angie. They’ll come around,” said her brother while his eyes never left Dawn Breeze.

The lead pegasus charioteer called out. “All those who want to go to Ponyville should board the wagons now. We leave in five minutes.”

Not wanting to ruin the experience for her brother and his female friend, Hydrangea decided to keep her misgivings to herself. The happy ponies boarded the wagons, which took off precisely on schedule in the direction of Ponyville.

Starswirl smiled broadly as the visiting ponies discharged from the pegasus wagons, chatting happily and pointing to various features of the town. He heard many comments of how from above Ponyville had seemed a charming little hamlet. He looked around the town green and admitted to himself that, with its brightly coloured houses and shops, the town was indeed quite inviting. Next to him stood Clover and a light beige stallion, who addressed the gathered ponies.

“Welcome to Ponyville, brothers and sisters! My name is Joly Pine, and I am the son of Oya Dawn, the mayor of Ponyville. It is my honour to be the very first earth pony born of a unicorn mother and living proof of the effectiveness of the amniomorphic spell. We have many things to show you and many ponies to introduce, so we will start at the beginning and present a history of our village and its founding on another world!” There were gasps and whispers as the visitors heard this confirmation of one of the many rumours circulating about the tiny town. They followed Joly as he led them from the town’s central green. Starswirl stayed behind, as did Clover.

“He’s got his mother’s gift of the gab, that one!” said Starswirl to his student, looking on as the earth pony stopped and gesticulated every few steps, pointing at this or that, or told a brief anecdote. “This tour might just take longer than anticipated.” He gestured to another building a short distance out of the town proper. “While we wait for Joly to charm our guests I want to show you the hospital.” Starswirl lowered his hoof and began to walk briskly towards the edifice, talking all the while. “Our very talented Oya has made great strides forward in the care of the sick and injured. I am thinking of creating an annex of the Ministry specializing in the medical sciences. What say you, Clover?”

Clover hurried to catch up to his teacher. “Medical science? What an interesting idea, Maestro. Did you come up with it during your stay on the other world?”

“Yes, indeed.” Starswirl’s smile faltered a moment. “But it came to us after a rather unfortunate incident in the early stages of our colony there.” They paused at the building’s entrance.

Chiseled in the stone above its arch were the words: “Zenith Memorial Hospital”. Just below it Clover read: “All who suffer are welcome here.” He paused a moment to recollect Starswirl’s report on the Colony. “Zenith... there was a stillborn foal by that name in the early years, was there not?”

“Yes, it is she. I saw Oya use magic to find the cause of her demise by feeling the inside of her body with her telekinetic sense. It was a revelation in how magic could be used to ascertain the extent of injuries and identify disease. The unicorns of Oya’s clan have been doing this for centuries, but because of their lowly status as animal handlers, the practice has never spread beyond their ranks.” Starswirl entered the hospital. “We now have a chance to rectify this to the benefit of all equestrians, no?”

“I have ceased counting your wonders and revelations, Maestro. I...” Clover was interupted by the loud clatter of hooves on polished wood. An earth pony had galloped into the hospital, blood dripping down his purple sides, breathing hard with and carrying a pony draped over his back. It was a pegasus stallion, and was a mess of feathers, fur and more blood. Starswirl felt his stomach lurch at the sight.

A grey unicorn mare with a chestnut mane approached the new arrivals; a padded pallet hovered in the air behind her. She set it next to the earth pony, who was still trying to catch his breath, and levitated the pegasus from his back onto the pallet. Her horn glowed on as she continued to examine the grievously injured pony. “Head Pond, are you injured as well?” she asked of the earth pony, who finally had wind enough to spare for words.

“No... it’s just Blizzard that was attacked... Aunty Oya.” The earth pony looked down, as if seeing the injured pegasus for the first time. “I didn’t see how badly he was hurt before, I just grabbed him and ran.” He swallowed, looking close to tears. He started when Starswirl placed a hoof on his shoulder.

“Easy, now lad,” said Starswirl. “Can you tell us what’s happened to your brother?”

The pony looked up with eyes as large as saucers. “Monsters!” he said. “...Maestro... there are dozens of monsters... coming out of the Everfree forest!”

Starswirl’s ears flattened against his head, as did Clover’s when he also worked out the implications of the earth pony’s revelation. “I was mistaken, Clover. They didn’t go after the princesses. The target is Ponyville!” He turned back to Head Pond. “Where are these monsters?”

The purple earth pony pointed roughly south-east. “Just beyond the mill, on the other side of town.”

“Listen son, there will likely be more injuries. The hospital must be prepared. I need you to stay here and help Oya organize the staff. Tell her what I have told you as soon as she is finished examining your brother, and then do as she commands.” At the look of incipient panic in the stallion’s face Starswirl again patted his withers. “Blizzard, and all the rest of us are depending on you, Head Pond. I know you can do this.”

The stallion nodded, and looked inwardly as he marshalled the will to stay calm. When it returned his gaze was determined, if grim. “Yes, Maestro. You can count on me.”

Without another word, Starswirl galloped out of the hospital with Clover hot on his tail. They made straight for the Town Hall. Several ponies who had witnessed Head Pond’s mad rush to the hospital with his injured brother joined up with them. Recognizing several of them Starswirl sent them in pairs onwards to the forest, asking them to take a careful look and report back the instant they saw anything amiss.

Joly Pine’s discourse came to a sudden stop as he saw the fast approaching ponies. The visitors craned their heads to see what the commotion was, and made room for those arriving in such haste.

“I’m sorry,” Starswirl shouted out, “but we have to postpone the tour. There are monsters approaching the village from the south. We cannot ensure your safety, and so I ask you all return home forthwith.” He turned to the mayor’s son. “Joly, we need to establish lookouts at the edge of town and set up defences immediately.”

Joly Pine looked at him in confusion. “Starswirl, we’ve never had to do such a thing. Where do we even start?” The villagers clustered around the pair, looking on in fright and confusion. A few of the visitors also approached.

“We need some ponies who are fleet, and... ” Starswirl faltered. He had no clue how to defend a town from monsters.

A cyan coated pegasus, one of the visitors, pushed his way into the inner circle. “You need pegasi to scout from the air and unicorns to prepare a ring of defenses around the town. Have every other pony erect a barrier across the southern edge of town to impede the monsters’ progress while you evacuate the non-combatants.” The group grew quiet.

“Forgive my lack of decorum, but who are you, sir?” asked Starswirl.

The pegasus saluted. “Captain Cirrus Dash, of the pegasi militia. We’re used to fighting monsters on remote weather patrols, and I for one will not leave this town while its good folk are in peril.” Several of the other pegasi formed up behind him. “And it seems my tribemates share my resolve. Have a few of the village pegasi join us and we’ll do the scouting, and some of the fighting if it comes to that.”

Clover spoke. “Starswirl, four of the unicorns here including me are members of our militia as well. We’re young but we have some experience in defence against monsters. We stay and fight.” The unicorns nodded.

Starswirl felt a knot in his throat. It had been an eternity since he had felt such gratitude towards anypony. He hesitated only a moment.

“Captain, I place you in charge of organizing our defences. Clover, you will lead the unicorns under his command, and send somepony who can teleport to advise the princesses of our situation. Our village has for its entire history existed in a place where the only threat to life was accident or disease. It is my failing that we are so ill-prepared upon our return to Equestria!” He turned back to Joly. “Sound the emergency bell, get the evacuation started, and then assist the good captain and Clover in any way they see fit. I will lead the erection of the barrier to the south of town myself.”

The crowd dissolved into three major camps. Minutes later several pegasi took to the air and winged their way south. Few ponies had the time or leisure to observe as Starswirl galloped alone into the fields at the south of town. He then stopped and planted his hooves firmly. Ponies did notice however when earth began to move of its own, as if a giant invisible plow were digging a furrow around the edge of Ponyville. It left a pony-deep trench in its wake that traced fully three quarters of the town’s circumference. The Hospital stood at just about the midpoint between the open arms of the excavation.

When he returned to the front steps of the Town Hall barely a quarter hour later, many of the visiting ponies, especially the unicorns, looked at him oddly. The matter seemed forgotten when everypony was distracted by the return of the pegasi scouts.

The first, a pale yellow filly saluted the Captain and Starswirl. “There’s a whole line of monsters making its way towards town. I saw cockatrices, manticores, two Ursa Majors, and even some timberwolves. They have crossed the river and passed the mill. They’re not in any hurry so far and probably won’t be until they spot some prey. I figure we have half an hour until they reach the earthworks.” The filly tilted her head. “Speaking of which, how’d that trench get dug so fast?”

Every gaze focused on Starswirl. “That new earthmoving spell works quite well, doesn’t it?” he remarked with a sheepish grin. “Well then, have the foals and those who cannot fight been gathered?” Joly nodded. “Then I and Clover will teleport them to Everfree Castle...” He paused when Clover shook his head sadly.

“Maestro. I just tried to teleport a minute ago,” said Clover. There is a counter-teleport spell over the entire area. Try as I might I can’t get through!”

Starswirl’s horn glowed a moment. “Neither can I, lad,” said the elder mage in a grave voice.

“Not to worry,” said Captain Dash. All eyes turned to the pegasus. “Let’s load them up on the wagons we used to carry the guests here. With this bunch it should take three trips at most. We’ll put one experienced driver and three townspegasi per team. We need to keep the pegasi who can fight on hoof.”

“Excellent proposal, Captain. We are most fortunate and grateful for your presence amongst us today. However this has further implications.” Starswirl paused as he chose his words. “A simultaneous attack by a whole menagerie of different monsters is not likely to be just simple coincidence.”

“The monsters are being assisted,” said Clover. Several ponies gasped in surprise. “The conclusion is inescapable. And there is a group of unicorns opposed to the Hearth’s Warming Eve covenant. This can only be their work.”

Captain Dash’s eye narrowed. “Then we’ll have to be cautious. We are not just dealing with dumb animals. All ponies on the ground will be teamed in groups of no less than three. Pegasi will fly in pairs. This may limit our coverage, but it is the only way to fight effectively if... other ponies are involved. I also suggest that as soon as the foals are brought to safety we also evacuate all the other inhabitants.”

Joly surged forward “What do you mean? Are you saying that we must abandon Ponyville?” Everypony present held their breaths.

Starswirl answered for the Captain. “The ponies of this town are more important than any building or even the town itself, Joly. I know, this town is all many of us have ever known, but trust me lad, it isn’t all there is. We can always rebuild, here or elsewhere.” Many of the ponies in the crowd had begun to weep.

“Listen to me, Ponyville! Today we fight not for our town, but for each other! You keep that in mind when considering what and whom is truly important. Those who attack us will know justice, but today our goal is the survival of our families. Our mission is to hold this place while they are safely removed from harm's way.” His gaze turned to the pegasi and unicorn visitors. “This is true for all who have chosen defend us today. You are henceforward part of our town and families as well. We will need to stand firm the better part of two hours, and no more. That is our only objective, and then we leave and let the royal militias deal with this infestation. Anypony who is hurt should be brought to the hospital. Go now, and let us all remember our plan to work together and keep every single one of us safe.” Dismissed, the crowd began to disperse.

Captain Dash approached, Clover and Hydrangea a step behind him. “Well, that wasn’t exactly the most inspiring battlefield speech I’ve ever heard,” said Dash with a wry smile.

Starswirl’s expression was bleak. “Captain, these ponies are not warriors, and neither am I. They are my friends and neighbours. I have known most of them from the day of their births, and they are all very precious to me. I don’t want them to be courageous. I want them to survive. This is a very selfish wish, but I beg of you Captain, please keep them as well as yourselves safe!” He looked at Clover and Hydrangea each in turn. “And that goes for the two of you as well. Take no unnecessary risks, just protect our ponies until the authorities get here. Is that clear?” His gaze shifted back to the Captain. “Speaking of which, we need the fastest pegasus we have fly to Everfree Castle forthwith and advise the princesses.”

Hydrangea spoke. “We already called for a volunteer. My brother Cornflower’s friend put her hoof forward. She’s getting ready to leave now.” She pointed to a little yellow pegasus who had given the report on the monsters’ progress. She was joined with Hydrangea’s brother in a neck hug. The two noticed the attention and slowly parted, blushing visibly. The filly approached.

“I’m ready. Do you have any further instructions?” she asked.

“None. Please do be careful, Dawn Breeze,” said the Captain.  She raised a hoof in a somewhat inexperienced salute. With a last glance at Cornflower, she leapt into the air and flew off towards the south-east.

“I need to get an update from the scouts on the monsters’ movements,” said Captain Dash. “I suggest you finish organizing the unicorn teams.” With a nod he trotted off.

“There will be four unicorn units,” said Clover, “one protecting each of the cardinal points. Leading these are Hydrangea and the unicorns who have had some defensive training. Each group will have three teams, two active and one in reserve at all times. Each team will consist of three or four unicorns. We’ve already formed the teams, who are now travelling to their assigned positions on the wall you so thoughtfully provided.” Clover smirked as he concluded his remarks.

“What about you and I, Clover?” asked Starswirl raising an eyebrow.

“You and I troubleshoot. We go to wherever the action is hottest and assist. I take the western half and you the eastern.”

“Sounds competently organized,” said Starswirl. "Let’s get to it then!” Starswirl and Clover began to walk towards the southern edge of the impromptu barrier.

Soon, they stood upon it and gazed out over the peaceful countryside. They did not have long to wait. Groups of various oddly shaped creatures were ambling purposefully towards Ponyville. The closer they came the faster they moved, as if their predatory instincts goaded them on to the expected defenceless ponies.

Minutes later, flashes of magical discharges could be seen around the fortifications. Roars of rage and confusion gave testimony to the defenders’ success. Above the fray, pegasi flew back and forth, pointing out movements and dropping stones on unsuspecting monsters whenever possible.

Starswirl and Clover each went to the assistance of the defenders as the monsters had massed into two large groups. Starswirl’s main tactic was simple: if the beast was terrestrial then from a distance he launched it into the air and back where it had come from. He could not stomach watching them fall, and so wasn’t entirely sure how effective this was. But he assumed what went up high would then come down hard. As to manticores and other flying fiends, he simply struck them in the air with levitated stones. In minutes many large bat-winged bodies littered the field before the embankment. Several were still alive, and mewled pitifully in obvious pain. Their cries alerted their fellows, who became wary of his tactics and stayed away from his position.

Forty minutes into the defence of Ponyville, Captain Dash dropped from the sky less than a ponylength away. “Maestro! Your impeccable defence of this sector has discouraged the foe. Unfortunately they have decided to concentrate their efforts to the other side of town where our defenders are in dire need of assistance. We need you to join them there as we risk being flanked from the north.”

“Tell them I’m on my way.” Starswirl stopped only to advise the unicorn who lead the unit where he was stationed, and galloped off into town.

When he arrived at the northwestern segment of the barrier, he was met by a scene from nightmare. The manticores had adopted his strategy and were bombarding the town's defenders with rocks. The unicorns on the ground mostly aimed balls of fire or small rocks at the manticores, when in the air, but the brunt of the aerial defence was born by the pegasi, who while much smaller than their foes were far more nimble and used their hooves to devastating effect. He could only bear to watch for a terrifying moment the incredible and extremely dangerous aerial ballet of the pegasi defenders.

On the top of the earthen bank, many ponies showed bloody scrapes and gashes. These warred with the ground bound monsters. The unicorns threw stones and fireballs here as well, but to better effect, at least on the smaller monsters. There were two Ursa majors, bound with magical ropes that seemed much too small to hold them. Earth ponies with rods, spades and pitchforks made up the remainder of the defenders.

As he watched a shout went up: "Cockatrice!" Immediately one of the unicorns ran forward, a magical shield forming before the pony as he galloped towards the still distant but oncoming monster. Two earth ponies followed the unicorn close behind.

"Don't look at the Cockatrice!" shouted a voice he recognized. Clover limped over to him while still casting fireballs over his withers into the sky." His left foreleg was a bloody mess, with most of the fur scraped off and much of the skin with it from the shoulder to the hoof. "If you look them in the eye they can turn you to stone," he said. "At least the magic fails and you return to normal if the Cockatrice is felled. Here this is how you do the mirror shield spell."

Starswirl watched, unable to find his voice. He nodded and then produced his own mirror shield. Clover nodded in weary satisfaction. Starswirl's stomach had grown queasy at the sight of his student’s injuries. His voice cracked as he was finally able to speak. "You look like something tried to flay you alive, lad!"

"It pays to keep one eye to the sky, Maestro. You never know when a manticore will try to drop something on you!” Clover’s forced smile faltered, and a look of exhaustion clouded his young face. “Thank harmony you're here. We're reaching the end of our rope, and yet still more of the beasts come from the forest."

At that moment there was a huge roar. One of the Ursa Majors had broken its bonds and was struggling to rise onto its huge legs. Several unicorn defenders rushed past Starswirl and Clover towards the house-sized bear to re-subdue it, but not before the beast was able to tear the bonds off its mate with the swipe of a huge claw. Clover hobbled towards the scene, magical fireballs projecting from his horn as he attempted to assist his fellows in distracting the beasts. Two of the unicorns projected glowing lengths of magical rope, which they threw at the bears. The ropes hovered in the air next to the behemoths looking entirely inadequate to bind the raging monsters.

Starswirl watched in horror as the bears made a surprisingly fast dash towards the barrier. They were so tall that they could literally step over it, which they did, catching the unicorn contingent including Clover and Starswirl between them. Both the bears reared to their hind legs and raised their forelegs, intending to smash the unfortunate ponies into the ground. Starswirl saw Clover’s eyes grow wide in fear and raise his injured foreleg above him in a futile move ward the coming blow. Starswirl’s horn glowed.

The first thing Princess Celestia saw when coming out of her teleport was the ring of stones. Crossing the diameter of the ring was a glowing semi-circle of energy. Inside the princess saw the ethereal light of Tartarus. This is the place! she thought with satisfaction. It had taken her hours to trace the faint energy signature to this remote part of the Everfree Forest which was still rife with the chaotic remnants of the war with Discord. Her sister had been chasing shadows all night long as well, up in area around Mount Canterlot.

A lone unicorn in a dark cloak stood near the gateway, only its horn protruding from beneath the hood. In the clearing just outside the stone circle, Cerberus the guardian of Tartarus slept, bound to the earth with ropes and stakes. Celestia landed in the circle. Her horn glowed and Cerberus awoke. He snarled as his bonds dissolved, and made to pounce on the hooded unicorn, who stood unmoving under his cloak.

“The unicorn is mine!” Her voice resounded, loud enough to shake the stones of the ring. The huge animal lowered its head in fear. More softly she continued. “Return to your realm, Cerberus. I will close this gate, so that you may rest.”

The huge three headed dog bowed, and in two leaps was through the gate. Celestia raised a hoof and stamped it on the ground.  From where it struck, a white glow spread like veins through the earth to each of the standing stones, which for a moment glowed bright white as if from an internal fire, before crumbling into piles of dust.

“Show yourself!” said the princess to the lone unicorn. The pony did not move. Celestia felt unease and approached the figure warily. With a flash of her horn she sent the cloak flying. Revealed was the skeleton of a unicorn long dead, kept whole by a spell. As she watched, the spell dissipated and the skeleton fell in pieces to the ground. She stared at the heap of bones, growing more uneasy with each passing second.

Her breath caught in her throat. “This was a feint!” she exclaimed in dismay, and teleported, hoping she wasn’t too late.

Clover expected the sight of the Ursa’s paw above him would be his last. Then the first miracle happened. A ponylength above his head, a magical shield appeared. The bears paused a moment in consternation, then one drove a mighty paw into the gleaming apparition, it shook, and next to him Starswirl staggered to his knees. Clover looked up at the Ursa. The failed attempt only seemed to enrage it further. It roared out its frustration, making the very ground shake. It lifted its huge paw again.

Then Clover saw the second miracle. He and the unicorns under the shield looked up in confusion as the shield began to grow, curving down, until its edges touched the ground, enclosing them in a perfect, transparent half-dome of energy. The bears began to pound on the dome in earnest. Inside, it rang like a bell with each mighty blow, but it held. Starswirl rose to his hooves, eyes closed, horn glowing brightly.

Clover risked a glance beyond the dome. Many of the attackers were taking advantage of the respite from the unicorns’ missile barrage, and running towards the now undefended area.

“Maestro! We need to leave this dome now or the creatures will be able to breach our line!” shouted Clover over the din of the bear strikes, which were coming ever faster.

Starswirl opened his eyes. Instead of the usual deep blue irises, Clover only saw pools of light. The force dome shield disappeared, one of the Ursas nearly stumbling into the group of ponies as it lost its balance when its paw went straight through the air and impacted with its own knee. It roared in pain and then in confusion as it suddenly levitated into the air. Its mate also ponderously rose to float above the embankment. Starswirl took a step forward as if there was a huge weight on his back. Then another. He crested the barrier and slid down into the trench before it. A moment later he climbed ponderously forward up the slope to the field and made his way slowly in the direction of the Everfree forest.

Clover shook his head and shouted at the other unicorns. “Close the breach!” The other defenders quickly spread out and started driving back a pack of timber wolves with balls of fire. Levitated stone missiles took care of several cocatrices that were trying to climb the barrier’s earthen bank. Clover risked a glance at Starswirl who now looked like a tiny dot next to the floating Ursas. Moments later even they were hard to make out. Finally the threesome melted into the green canopy of the Everfree Forest and were lost from sight.

Some ten minutes later Starswirl galloped back towards the defensive barrier. His eyes appeared normal as he broke through the invading horde, scattering them back towards the forest like leaves in the wind. He crested the barrier, and then continued galloping along its summit, a hurricane of force driving back the monsters in all their variety.

He returned less than a quarter hour later, plodding slowly along the barrier’s top. He stopped when he reached Clover’s position. There was a fluttering sound and Captain Dash landed beside them.

“That was truly amazing, Starswirl! I’ve never seen anything like it.” The pegasus stared at Starswirl, a huge grin on his face. “Not one, but two Ursa Majors! If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes...”

“Please captain, just tell me, how goes the evacuation?” asked Starswirl, weariness making his voice weak.

“All the foals, elderly and infirm have been removed. We can now start to move out the other citizens. But I don’t think that will be necessary,” The captain smiled brightly.

“And why is that?” asked Clover.

“Because the beasts are retreating. There’s a good chance the attack is over!”

“I don’t think those who did this will give up so easily,” said Starswirl.

“Two Ursa Majors couldn’t get through. What more could they do?” asked the Captain innocently. Clover winced, and then felt more than heard what could only be termed an earthquake. Then a few seconds later another. And then another. Without another word Captain Dash took off and flew almost straight up until Clover could hardly see him in the distance. He hovered a moment, and then shot straight down, again landing next to Clover and his teacher. His expression was grim.

The earth trembled again. “We’ll continue the evacuation. It will require another thirty to forty minutes to complete,” said the pegasus.

“So what did you see up there?” asked Clover as the ground shook.

“Just past the southern edge of town, a hydra is approaching.” There was fear in his eyes. “This is a small one as such go, only about twenty ponylengths high.”

“So how do we defend against it?” asked Starswirl, as another reverberation shook them.

“We don’t,” said Dash. “All we can do is lead it around while staying out of its way, and hope we have the energy to do so until we can finish evacuating everypony.”

“We have another problem,” said a new voice. Clover turned and saw Hydrangea approaching with her brother. Another seism shook the ground.

“And what’s that?” asked Captain Dash.

“We just saw a group of unicorns herding the monsters into a small valley just east of Ponyville,” said the blue mare. “They also engaged some of our defenders. We’re not just dealing with monsters anymore. This is turning into pony against pony.” Several ponies adjusted their stance as the ground shook again.

Clover looked at Starswirl in dismay. His teacher seemed to age twenty years before his very eyes. He peered into the distance. A hug dun coloured fan could be seen south of the town. It took him a moment to make it out clearly: the fan was actually an array of four long necks, topped with four huge reptilian heads. The hydra was upon them.

The ponies stared south and watched as the behemoth inexorably approached the tiny hamlet, feeling helpless as the earth trembled beneath their very hooves.