//------------------------------// // A Column of Light // Story: A Royal History Lesson // by crazyjw18 //------------------------------// Time seemed to slow to a crawl as Celestia watched her mother blindly charge the repugnant monster. Galaxia leapt into the air at the last possible moment and aimed her sharp horn straight at the dread creature's heart. However the beast was ready for her. One of Tirek's mighty arms swung forth and met the side of the unicorn's neck with a sickening crunch. Galaxia's body sailed away from him in a high arc and fell heavily to the ground next to her horrified daughter. The bright glow surrounding the queen's body rapidly faded away until she was once more an ordinary looking pony. "Tia," Galaxia gasped as she struggled to raise her head from the ground. Her battered body shook with a uncontrollable spasm. "Get out of here." The pitiful plea coming from her mother's bloody lips finally snapped Celestia out of her daze. "Hold on, Mama" she begged frantically as her magic fumbled at the locket's clasp. "Open, darn it, open!" With a soft click the locket sprung open and the little rainbow emerged anew. It flew a quick circle around Celestia's head then made a beeline straight to her mother. As if studying her the multicolored band of light flitted erratically across the mare's body from the end of her tail to the tip of her nose. "Don't worry, the Rainbow is going to make you all better," Celestia promised as tears started to spill forth from her eyes, trying hard to convince herself that it was true. Galaxia's pain-twisted expression gradually calmed as the rainbow continued to flicker across her body. "It's like the pain is just fading away," she announced as she watched the rainbow with a detached sense of wonder. She cast a serene gaze up at her daughter's frightened face. "So one of that old hack's legends was true after all. Huh. Maybe all of them were." "It's really working?" Celestia asked hopefully as she leaned closer to her mother. A hacking cough overtook Galaxia as she tried to answer. "That awful voice," she gasped once her breath had returned. "I... I can't hear it at all now. Thank goodness." "I hate to interrupt such an amusing moment," Tirek interjected, "but there's still a lot of ponies out there waiting to be eaten." A look of panic washed over Galaxia's face as she remembered their situation. "Run, now!" she hissed. "I won't leave you," Celestia insisted as she stepped in front of her mother and lowered her horn threateningly at the slowly advancing centaur. "So now your filly is going to challenge me?" Tirek taunted. "That's fine. Prey always tastes better when it fights back." "Keep away from her!" Galaxia warned as she craned her neck to glare at the monster. "Or what?" Tirek retorted as towered over the pair of ponies. "You're finished." He drew one of his brawny red arm back and flexed his cruel claws as he prepared to deliver a decisive blow to the young alicorn. A ear-shattering roar stopped Tirek's hand in mid-swing. He stepped back and turned his gaze skywards just in time to see something huge and lilac barreling down on him from above. The centaur threw himself to the side, narrowly avoiding the dive-bombing dragon's dagger lined jaws. "Leave them alone!" Spike bellowed as he circled around for another pass. "A dragon defending ponies?" Tirek sneered as he studied the airborne reptile. "Now I've seen everything." "Be careful!" Celestia shouted as the dragon lunged once again at the centaur. No longer caught off guard, Tirek waited calmly until the last possible moment to move. "Such a slow dragon isn't even a threat," he scoffed as he easily dodged Spike's sharp teeth. "Pathetic." "Shut up!" Spike snarled as he whipped his long tail around to deliver a bone crushing blow. This time Tirek stood his ground. The heavy tail slammed into his side with enough force to demolish a stone wall, but the centaur was merely thrown back several feet. Swiftly regaining his footing, Tirek's face was twisted in a mixture of pain and rage as he grabbed hold of the dragon's tail and dug his claws deep into the thick scales. "Got you," the demonic centaur smirked as he yanked back hard, his demonic strength pulling the surprised dragon out of the sky. The heavy reptile's skull struck the ground with a echoing crack as his body went limp. "Spike!" a tiny voice screamed from above. Galaxia's head shot up. "Luna?" she gasped as she caught sight of the little blue alicorn swooping down to hover protectively over the unconscious dragon. "What is she doing here?" "I don't know," Celestia answered hastily. "I told her not to follow me!" "Take her and get out of here!" her mother snapped. "Now!" "But the Rainbow's still trying to heal you!" Celestia argued she extended her wings nervously. "It might stop if I leave." "You leave him alone, you big bully!" Luna shouted defiantly at the centaur. "Shoo, fly," Tirek grunted as he absentmindedly swatted at the little filly. He scowled as Luna nimbly flittered just out of his reach. "I don't care!" Galaxia replied. "Go!" Celestia hesitated for just a moment, torn between protecting her mother and rescuing her younger sister. Shaking her head irritably, she tensed her wings and launched herself into the air. Even as Celestia took flight, Tirek drew in a deep breath and spewed forth a thick burst of black mist at Luna. The young pony disappeared from sight as the noxious cloud enveloped her. "Luna!" Celestia yelled. She took a deep breath and dove into the black cloud. She emerged from the other side a second later with her younger sister clasped tightly to her chest and soared high into the air, well out of the monster's reach. As they slowed to a stop, Luna went into a painful coughing fit as she attempted to expel the last of the clingy mist from her throat. "It burns," she managed to wheeze tearfully." "There, there, just get it all out," Celestia murmured worriedly as she gently patted the frightened filly on the back. Peering over her sister's head, she spotted Tirek glaring up at them from below. His baleful yellow eyes met her own for a brief moment before he looked away, turning his attention back to their injured mother. "Luna, can you fly?" Celestia demanded. "Don't know," Luna wheezed weakly. "I don't feel good." Celestia scowled as she watched the centaur began to advance on their mother once more. The rainbow was still swarming across Galaxia's body, but it was apparent she hadn't regained enough strength to even stand up, let alone to face her monstrous adversary again. The older alicorn's eyes lit up as she realized what she had to do. Closing her eyes, Celestia concentrated hard and abruptly disappeared in a flash of light. An instant later she reappeared on the ground about a half mile away, Luna still gripped tightly between her hooves. "Stay here," Celestia ordered in a tone that forbid argument as she set Luna down in the grass. With another flash she winked back to her mother's side just before Tirek could get within striking range. Planting her hooves firmly on the ground, Celestia's horn started to glow brightly. The monster's eyes widened as a pale golden glow surrounded his body and froze him in place. He attempted to push forwards towards the two ponies, but struggle as he might, he could not advance. "What trickery is this?" he demanded as his massive hooves were lifted slightly off the ground. "You're heavy," Celestia grunted as her glowing horn started to give off stray sparks. "But not as heavy as that beam was." "How long do you think you can keep this up?" Tirek spat as he continued to strain against her magic. "You're already trembling." "As long as it takes," Celestia retorted. "Too bad you forgot something," Tirek smirked. He took in a deep breath in preparation to spew a devastating deluge of his noxious breath upon his captor. Celestia's magic slammed the centaur's mighty jaws shut before the slightest wisp of darkness could escape his maw. "I didn't forget." Without taking her eyes off her now furious foe, she shouted back over her shoulder, "Mother, how are you doing?" "Much better," Galaxia lied as she forced herself upright. Intense pain coursed through her tortured body with every movement despite the numbing effects of the Rainbow. That was ok. She knew she could bear the pain for a little longer. Gritting her teeth, she finally managed to straighten her wobbly legs. The Rainbow of Light rose with her and continued its frantic course around her body. "Celestia," Galaxia said as she took one agonizing step forward, then another. "That power of yours is truly amazing. I've always known you had a lot of potential, but you've grown so much in just a few short days." She nearly lost her balance but managed to splayed her legs out wide in time to keep herself from toppling over. "I want you to know how proud I am of both you and Luna." She paused and gazed mournfully at the lifeless white-feathered wing still fluttering above the withered grass. Even now that the Rainbow had purged the blinding anger and confusion from her mind it still didn't seem real. That wonderful pegasus was gone, and it was entirely her fault. It didn't matter that she hadn't meant to bring him here. The undeniable fact remained that she had. And he had paid for it. "Both I and your father... have always been so very proud of you two," Galaxia managed to continue as tears started to flow down her cheeks. "Please always remember that your mama and papa loved you two more than anything. Make sure Luna remembers as well." "Don't say things like that!" Celestia said anxiously. "You've always been such a good girl," her mother said as she reached her daughter's side. "Make sure you take good care of your sister." "Mama, you're really scaring me," Celestia protested as she started to turn her head. A jolt of panic shot through her as she felt her magical hold on Tirek began to waver. She hastily returned her attention back to the difficult job of keeping him restrained. Galaxia took a deep breath and let it out slowly as she allowed herself to gently lean against her daughter's side. "I'm so sorry," she whispered just loud enough for Celestia to hear. "I tried to protect everyone, but in the end I couldn't even save your father. But I won't let anything happen to you." With this said, Galaxia reached out and grabbed the Rainbow's pendant in her teeth. With a firm yank she snapped the heart-shaped locket free of its fine silver chain. The Rainbow halted its erratic flight and returned to its container the moment Galaxia took possession of it. All of the pain the Rainbow had been suppressing was returned in spades, but the unicorn bore it without a whimper. "Hey! What are you doing?" Celestia demanded. "He is a being of pure darkness," Galaxia calmly explained as she poured her remaining magic into the Rainbow pendant. "Only light magic can permanently destroy such evil." She looked directly into her enemy's defiant eyes and gave him a rueful smile. "Isn't that right, monster?" With his jaws still muzzled, Tirek could only snarl impotently in reply. "It is past time that we ended this," Galaxia announced as the twin mirrors in the locket began to shimmer. With what little magic she had left she rotated the pendant around to face the monstrous centaur. "Goodbye, Tirek." Even as the last of the glow faded from Galaxia's horn, the Rainbow of Light sprang forth once more. Instead of the previous small band of light there was a brilliant flood of colors that that shot high into the sky like an multihued erupting geyser. The supercharged Rainbow gathered overhead for a moment then descended upon the dark centaur in a breaking wave of pure radiance. Celestia's magical hold upon Tirek softly imploded as the Rainbow enveloped him in a huge column of swirling light. She stumbled but remained standing as her body tried to recover from the incredible strain. Breathing hard, she watched in awe as the centaur's body disappeared from view amidst the spinning streams of color. A few small whiffs of dark mist, a leathery red arm, and a lone ebony hoof briefly emerged from the swirling rainbow, but as the long seconds ticked by there were no more signs of the monster's frantic struggle within. The swirling light gradually lessened and faded finally revealing that where only moments ago the creature had been there was now nothing but air. Not even the tiniest hint of his fiendish presence remained as the Rainbow returned to its prior diminutive size and fled back into the closing locket. The locket and Galaxia hit the ground at the same time. With an exhausted sigh the unicorn sunk to her knees and sprawled limply onto her side. Her chest heaved as her lungs struggled to pull in enough air to sustain her failing body. "Mama!" Celestia cried out as she snatched the fallen locket and knelt by her mother's side. She hurriedly reopened the locket, but to her horror the Rainbow did not emerge. "Do not fret," Galaxia said as her breathing slowed and she found herself fighting to keep her eyes open. "Even if the Rainbow still had its full power it couldn't have stopped this." "You're going to be ok, aren't you?" Celestia pleaded desperately as the tears started to flow from her eyes. "No dear, I'm not," Galaxia answered weakly with what she hoped was a reassuring smile. "Don't look so sad. Your poor papa must be so lonely right now. I'll be joining him shortly." "Please don't leave us all alone," Celestia begged. "I can't bear losing you both like this." "You are stronger than you think, 'Tia. You'll need to be strong for Luna's sake." "I'm not that strong," Celestia whimpered as she laid her head against the side of her mother's. "There's one more thing I always wanted to tell you," Galaxia nearly whispered. "Don't let anyone tell you what to do with your life. Live it as you see fit." She turned her head to look into her distraught daughter's eyes. "Promise me that." "I... I promise," Celestia answered earnestly. "Good." A satisfied smile crept across the battered unicorn's face as her eyelids slowly descended for the last time. It took Celestia a long minute to realize that her mother was gone. "Goodbye, Mama," she murmured as she planted a soft kiss on her mother's forehead. "Tell Papa we love you both so very much."