My Little Annihilation

by Word Wizard

Chapter Seven: Skirmish

“Come everypony, lets PARTY!” Pinkie shouted, her mirth undisguisable underneath the triangular party cap she had donned in less than a second. Soon everypony else in the room, much to their surprise and bewilderment, was wearing a similar triangular party hat. An elastic band fastened it on, preventing it’s inevitable descent. They all smiled: Pinkie was off again. ‘This should be interesting’ was the common thought around all of the victims of Pinkie’s party craze.

“Woohoo!” Pinkie pulled her party cannon out from behind her, and, aiming at the ceiling, she put a hoof on a button in the back and the weapon fired. Confetti filled the room, the smoke from the cannon clouding everyone’s visions. When the smoke cleared, the lounge was outfitted in all things required in the unseen laws of Pinkie Pie’s parties.

Everyone gasped a little, not that they were surprised, but it’s just never gets old when your friend presses a button and you find that the room you were occupying is fully decorated for a party.

“Woohoo!” Pinkie shouted, bouncing around the room. “Come on in everypony!” Pinkie bounced about the room, checking up on the various activities. Twilight and the rest of her friends stepped in, excited about what was to happen next.

“Let’s see,” Pinkie said, preparing to give everypony the grand tour, “We have apple-bobbing, punch, dancing, pin the tail on the pony, and... What else...” Pinkie lifted a foreleg to rub her chin, her face contorted with the effort of deep thought.

“I think this is plenty, Pinkie,” Twilight said, “We always have the best time at your parties!”

“Yeah!” Rainbow hovered over to the apple bobbing station. “Except,” she turned to Pinkie, who looked at the hovering rainbow pegasi with an innocent expression, “No crocodiles in here, right?”

Pinkie laughed. “Of course not, silly!” she bounced over to Rainbow, looking into the water. “That was for Gummy’s birthday party!”

“Ok, great!” Rainbow said, relieved... “Hey AJ, you wanna see who can get the most outta this in a minute?” Rainbow called to Applejack on the other side of the room, gesturing to the apple bobbing trough.

“You bet your hay I do, sugarcube!” Applejack sauntered over to Rainbow, her face smug with certainty, “But you better like losing!”

Unknown to the guests, far away, over the mountains that surround the Crystal Empire, a sinister movement slunk in the shadows. Actually, it was more of pulsing walk. In the cold light of dawn, the ARM task force finally approached it’s target, weapons primed and ready, prepared to battle.

Tromping through the snow of the arctic north, the machines left footprints, footprints large enough to form small ponds. In front, a row of twenty Zippers took broad steps, running ahead of the rest of the force. Behind them, a row of ten Mavericks marched, their uniquely held weapons waving to and fro as the arms oscillated to accompany the almost lunging like walking they were performing. Behind them, ten Sharpshooters, sniper Kbots, marched. Their odd hunched shoulders glinting in the sunlight. Their compressed spot where the head ought to have been was filled with snow, providing an imposing white triangle where the visual centers were based. This was cleared quickly by a few accurate shots from the mavericks.

A single mountain stood between this force and it’s target, they climbed, reaching the top within minutes. Surveying the field below, the machines paused, allowing for the Sharpshooters to catch up. Before lay the Crystal Empire, it’s main spire glinting in the growing light of dawn, the view tinted by a certain blue wall.

The Sharpshooters reached the top of the hill, unfolding their rifles as they went. A sort of briefcase like appendage unfolded, forming a plasma sniper rifle. The right arm was transformed into a weapon itself, the left grabbed it to steady the aim. Their arms raised.

An invisible command was ordered, the weapons fired. A blast of smoke erupted from the weapons, the barrels lifted into the air as their owners busily reloaded them, shoving another shell into place. Ten small plasma bolts shot from the smoke, lighting the night for only a split second before impacting the shield, their force sending cracks along its surface.

The Mavericks moved up, their arms raised as their weapons primed, aiming at the shield. In one swift motion, all the bots fired, dual plasma shots erupting from their barrels, smashing into the shield, creating more cracks. The shield was repairing itself, but not as quickly as it was being damaged. This could not hold up for long.

Cadence’s bleary eyes shot open. Her mug of coffee hit the floor, smashing into a thousand pieces, with the undrunken liquid flowing over them and creating a large mess. Cadence had been on the brink of sleep, weary from her constant protection, but something had happened. Her horn flickered again as an some force smashed into her shield, forcing her to pour more magic than ever into the structure, maintaining it against the volleys of high-impact projectiles.

“Princess!!!” an urgent voice shouted. The doors to the throne room were thrown open, allowing passage to the owner of the voice.

“Yes?” Cadence asked, one eyebrow raised. She already knew most of what the stallion in front of her had to say, but there may be a few things she might like to know.

“Something is attacking the shield,” the stallion said in a dire voice, standing up from a feverish bow. Cadence thought about rolling her eyes, but shot down the idea for she hadn’t heard everything this guard had to say. “They are,” the stallion looked straight at Cadence, his voice low and serious, “Robots.”

This word sent a chill down Cadence’s spine, she had been afraid of this. Ever since Twilight had built that structure... something told her that they were coming. Maybe a hunch, maybe a dream, or maybe a lucky guess; this fear was real.

“Send word to Twilight Sparkle and her friends immediately,” Cadence winced under a volley of force, “Prepare Twilight for battle, and if any of the other mech are complete, ready their pilots as well.”

The guard nodded, threw a salute and galloped out of the room. Cadence got mobile herself, wincing under the strain of maintaining the barrier, she walked out of the room.

“Woohoo!” Pinkie jumped around the room, making sure her friends were happy while participating in the party’s many events, many at a time.

“You having a good time?!” she asked Twilight excitedly as she shot passed her.

“Yeah, great....” Twilight said, sheepishly. Her mind was riddled with worries, concerns, and general havoc, most having to do with the upcoming war. She felt a disturbance, fluctuation in the magical field, shaking her head slightly over what it might be. ‘Something could be attacking the shield, forcing Cadence to use external magic, large amounts of it, thus creating fluctuations in the field from the magic rushing in to equalize itself after a large portion was poured into the shield...” Twilight thought. At this point, she was standing thoughtfully by the punch jar, staring into space.

“Twilight, darling,” Rarity said, trotting over from pin the tail on the pony, “Is everything alright?” She poured herself a glass of punch, sipping on it gracefully as she held the cup in a firm blue glow.

“Yeah, fine!” Twilight said, faking a smile. “Just a little nervous, that’s all!” her face turned a shade of red, her forced smile staring Rarity in the face.

“Well, if you’re sure...” Rarity’s face was worried, she sipped at her glass.

“Well, wouldn't you look at the time!” Twilight said, eager to get out of the awkward situation, “I’d best be going!” She ran out of the lounge, running to find a better spot to think, somewhere where nopony would disturb her...

Rounding the corner, Twilight ran headlong into a pair of guards that were running toward the lounge, bowling them over. A loud crash was heard, and Twilight found herself on the ground next to a couple of guards, all were surprised at the incident.

“Oh I am so sorry!” Twilight said, getting to her hooves. “I just didn’t see you coming-”

“Twilight Sparkle?” the guard cut her off, his face remaining stoic despite the incident.

“Wha- Oh, yeah, that’s me!” Twilight said, her voice climbing in pitch as she pointed a hoof at herself. Inside, she was panicking, several thoughts rushed through her head as if released from a restrained gully.

‘What have I done?!’ one chimed, it’s urgent tone condescending to the subject.

‘What’s going on up there?!’ one half screamed.

‘I’ve got to think!!!!’ one helpfully put in.

Twilight shook her head, throwing these panicked voice out of her thoughts and returning her full attention to the guards.

“Twilight, come with us,” one guard said, beginning to gallop down the hallway. “An emergency has arisen!” he called over his shoulder. Twilight’s mouth gaped, but she turned and ran.

“Emergency,” she muttered under her breath, “Should have known.” She rounded the corner, noting the guards distance she powered up her horn as she ran.

Twilight dissipated into thin air, the sound caused by air rushing to take her place. The reappeared, displacing air with a thin hissing sound, right behind the guards. Through all of this, she never stopped running.

The trio stopped by the door of the lounge, the guards threw open the door. “Everypony, please, come with us!” he shouted. Twilight’s friends turned to look at him.

“What in tarnation do you think would make us do that?” Applejack asked skeptically, her eyes narrowed at the intruders.

“Just do it, okay?” Twilight spoke up, her voice almost pleading.

“Alright Twi, if you say so,” Applejack resumed her normal composure, “Come on, y’all, we have a place to go!”

“Awww,” Pinkie said, her face almost hitting the floor in disappointment, “But aren’t we gonna finish the party?”

“We can do that another time, Pinkie,” Twilight called, “But come, time is of the essence!”

“Ok, I’ll come if time’s a fragrance!” Pinkie bounced to the door. The eight ran down the hallway, expressions set, minds determined. One of the guards explained a few things to the group, hoping to dissipate the general air of confusion that surrounded it.

“We’ve got robots at the borders,” he called, rounding another corner and approaching the hanger where Twilight’s mech was parked, “They’re going to burst through the shield, and we need you to fight!”

“How long do we have?” Twilight asked seriously. The guards threw open the doors to the hanger, a prep team engulfed the group, fitting puffy suits onto Twilight and Rainbow.

“About half an hour, probably less,” the guard said. Rainbow wasn’t exactly being cooperative with the prep ponies that were putting the suit on her.

“Woah woah woah woah!” she flew up in the air, “How am I supposed to fly in that thing?”

“Just do it!” Twilight cried, exasperated by her friends resistance, and at a time like this no less. Everypony stared at her, silenced.

“Sorry,” Twilight apologized, realizing her previous tone of voice, “But you really do need to get in that thing.”

“Alright, alright,” Rainbow resigned, lowering herself down to the ground only to be engulfed by the prep ponies.

Minutes later, the suits had depressurised and the helmets were placed atop the ponies heads, giving the effect of looking through a one sided fish bowl.

“Weird!” Rainbow said, rolling her eyes as she noticed the HUD in the left side of her view.

“No time for that!” Twilight began to gallop towards her mech, her voice was broadcasted to Rainbow via radio, also it was broadcasted by a speaker built into her suit to bridge the air-tight gap between her and her audience.

“Right,” Rainbow looked at the mech, “I’m assuming mine’s the awesome one?”

“If by awesome you mean rainbow, then you are correct,” Chem Tech’s voice came over Rainbow’s internal radio.

“Ok, now you’re talking into my ear, this is getting weirder by the second,” Rainbow screwed up her eyes to demonstrate her point.

“Just get in the machine, Rainbow!” Twilight shouted at her friend, her voice cracking a little as the microphone overloaded with the sound.

“Alright alright!” Rainbow cried, “I’ll get in your stupid machine.”

Twilight sat down in the familiar swivel seat in the control room of her mech. Dormant screens flickered slightly as she sat down, springing to life as soon as she hit the initiate button.

“Welcome back to mech ALPHA, commander,” OIAAS’s smooth voice said in Twilight’s helmet.

“And a very good morning to you too,” Twilight muttered, flipping a few switches on the dashboard in front of her. “OIAAS?” she started.

“Yes, commander?” the metallic voice responded in Twilight’s ear.

“No more field testing, we’re at war,” Twilight pressed a button, and turned to the tactical display next to her.

“Yes commander,” OIAAS said with it’s ever calm air, “I am aware.”

“You are?” Twilight questioned.

“Tactical control, enabled,” OIAAS said involuntarily as Twilight began to que orders in the mech’s database. “Yes,” OIAAS returned to it’s normal self, “The radar data shows a force incoming, a small force of advanced war machines.”

“Great,” Twilight muttered, “OIAAS, we have half an hour or less to build a base, build an army, and confront that force.”

“Affirmative,” OIAAS said, the mech began to move, shaking the control room slightly with each step. “Time is of the essence.” The mech began construction of a Daisy, the nanolaythe flowing freely from the emitter. “Will mech BETA be joining us?”

“Yes,” Twilight said, her face still bent over the tactical display, “But it’s driver has to go through the training protocol first.”

“Affirmative,” OIAAS said. Twilight pressed a button next to her display. “Executing ore scan,” OIAAS said involuntarily. On the left foot of the mech, a small device began to emit seismic waves, reading the rate at which they were received to record the densities of materials underneath. The ores used in the construction of bots were denser than regular soil, thus providing an effective map of ore deposits.

Twilight read out the results, plotting metal extractors where ore promised to be found, her face still contorted with nerves. The mech moved toward a plotted spot for the metal extractor. Three metal extractors later, a P-bot factory was being constructed.

“May I suggest creating a balance more in favor of the Unicorn - Light magic P-bot?” OIAAS suggested, it’s monotone never wavering.

“Thanks,” Twilight said. She never really got a briefing on battle strategy, or what all the units at her disposal were, so any piece of advice was appreciated. With a clank the P-bot factory was finished, it’s thin form spreading over the landscape.

“By the way,” Twilight asked OIAAS, “What controls our machines?”

“They are intelligence constructs similar to myself, receiving and executing orders issued by me and you, as the commander. They are not flesh based, as that would require more materials and be inefficient in production. In my data banks, the CORE use souls uploaded directly to machines where as the ARM use creatures encased in metal suits, making them devoid of the need to life support, so we, as the third side, are using different methods than either,” the computer finished, it’s vocal circuits sparking a little from the long piece of dialogue they had delivered.

“Uh huh,” Twilight said absent mindedly, focused entirely on cueing orders in the P-bot factory. The factory clanked open and began construction. A equine shaped nanolaything robot appeared, greenish at first but completing quickly. It galloped out of the factory, ready and awaiting orders. The factory began to produce metal unicorns, exiting the factory within tens seconds of construction starting. Twilight turned to the construction bot in front of her.

“Woah,” she whistled, looking at the large list of structures the bot could produce, most giant weapons, but hey, that’s kinda the point of this venture.

“May I suggest building the Guarder - Heavy Plasma Cannon?” OIAAS suggested.

“Yes, yes you may!” Twilight said, grasping onto the one thing she could to make herself feel better: humor. Bad humor at that too, but any kind of familiar concept was welcome in Twilight’s mind right now.

The bot clanked over to the side and began to build onto the green skeleton of a compact plasma battery. Meanwhile, Twilight began producing more metal extractors and Daisies to account for the large usage of resources that was starting to take a toll on the reserves.

“Hey Twi!” Rainbow’s voice came over the radio, Twilight smiled.

“Hey!” Twilight cried to her friend, a shred of comfort coming to her voice at last, “You know how to operate that thing?”

“Yeah, sorta,” Rainbow said. Twilight completed the structure she was working on and turned her machine around, looking straight at a rainbow mech standing right in front of hers.

“Nice decor!” Twilight exclaimed. The mech glowed in the sunlight, the rainbow paint job glinting. In the back, folded wings sat, along with a jetpack. The head on the mech was much lower set than Twilight’s, and the arms looked awkwardly high; this, Twilight assumed, must be to allow room for the swiveling mechanisms when it flies. The rest of the body was streamlined, as if a walking airplane.

“Thanks,” Rainbow’s voice said over the radio, “I’d say it’s about twenty-percent cooler than yours, though.” Twilight rolled her eyes.

“Could you head over and help with the defense line?” Twilight said, her machine walking to another spot to continuing building a strong economy.

“Sure thing, Twi,” Rainbow said. Twilight watched as the blue speck that represented her friend on the radar walked away from her.

“Attention commanders!” Chem Tech’s dire voice came over the microphone, without waiting for a response, she dove on with her speech. “The shield has failed, I repeat, the shield has failed!”

Twilight’s stomach felt as though it reduced itself to a ball and fell to the bottom of her ribcage, as though being thrown into a rubbish bin. “How long do we have?”

“About one minute until the forces begin to arrive, although it may be longer for all of them to get there,” Chem Tech’s voice said with dire urgency. “Good luck, and long live The Empire” she shouted, and the com line fell silent.

Twilight turned to the tactical display, selecting her troops. The mass of metal unicorns moved as one up next to the defense line, where the Guarder was still not finished. “Finish it, now!” Twilight shouted at Rainbow, her voice urgent and panicked.

“Woah woah woah!” Rainbow recoiled from the microphone after her friends outburst, “I’m building as fast as I can, Twi.”

“I’ll be over to help you then, we have incoming!” Twilight said, her eyes wide with panic.

“I know, we should take ‘em, man, look at your army!” Rainbow said, observing her friends small army sprawled on the ground before her. Twilight’s purple mech arrived next to Rainbow’s, aiding in construction of the plasma cannon. Soon, the structure was finished, it’s color all there. The construction bot moved over to the next one, beginning the construction.

“Yes!” a harried Twilight said over the microphone, “But that isn’t enough!”

“Ok Twi,” Rainbow recoiled a little bit at her friends stressful outburst, “If you say so.”

“Here we go!” Twilight shouted, selecting her army and moving them towards the mass of units that were approaching, fast. Small tan assault Kbots shot into view, their bodies light and strong as their long legs strode towards Twilight’s mech. Plasma shots, impacting large craters began to rain, fired by the Guarder. The Zippers merely moved away from the shots, their swarm unaffected by the menacing shells.

“Keep working on the Guarder,” Twilight shouted to Rainbow, selecting the construction bot and instructing it to create a heavy laser tower.

“Gotcha Twi,” Rainbow said, “Shouldn’t you attack them, though?”

“Yes, working on it!” Twilight selected the mass of Pbots, and moved them straight at the oncoming swarm of units. The armies clashed, plasma lit up the air. The Unicorns lowered their heads, rapid plasma fire coming off their horns, exploding when it hit an offending surface. The Zippers raised their weapons, firing long and concise strings of plasma into the crowd of ponies. Explosions filled the air, fireballs left twisted metal in their wake, small pieces of wreckage flew in the air, embedding itself in the ground upon impact.

“We’re winning!” Twilight shouted at her friend, her voice filled with happiness, but as she got confidant, she again saw the severity of the situation. Two groups of gunslinger Kbots marched in on either sides of the winning army, each one of their shots destroying a Unicorn, reducing it to molten metal. If that wasn’t enough, Twilight saw a row of Kbots standing in the distance, their arms extended in front of them as they rotated slowly to lock on to the movement of their target. A plume of smoke later and half of her force was gone... the Crystal Empire was losing.

“Hold them back, Rainbow!” Twilight called to her friend, as soon as the under construction Guardian was destroyed in a volley of sniper fire, “I can finish the laser tower!”

“You got it, Twi!” Rainbow said, flipping a few levers on her dashboard. The rainbow mech turned and began towards the opposing army, D-gun blazing. Anti-matter blasted through the force, pieces of units filled the air. Amidst the wreckage, the rainbow mech towered, crushing the smoking remains of the units it had destroyed.

But this carnage did not come without it’s price. Plasma flew against the armor of Rainbow’s mech, scratching the paint and bending the metal.

“This mechanical voice thing says I’ve got quite a bit of time ‘till I violently explode!” Rainbow grinned to herself, twisting the machine she was piloting and ripping through another row of units with her weapon.

“Alright, but be careful Rainbow.” Twilight replied uncertainly, “This tower’s almost finished... The construction bot was picked off in the fighting so it’s going slower than I’d like it to.”

“I got this!” Rainbow said, smug with satisfaction as a another row of robots blew to pieces. Only the line of snipers remained, their weapons lowered for another shot. This shot was going to destroy what was left of Rainbow’s mech... peirce it’s armor and trigger a nuclear meltdown in the core that powered the machine. The weapons primed... seconds later they would fire.

The snipers whirled around in surprise, facing an onslaught of missiles and artillery fire. The remaining bots were destroyed, leaving the hill donned only with twisted wreckage left from the snipers, molten iron ran down the landscape, cooling quickly.

“Well that’s that th-” Twilight was cut off. Coming over the hill, a large collection of K-bots, their backs hunched as they ran ahead. Their only arm burned at the tip, a hose hooked it up to a gas chamber held on their backs. They ran towards the defense line, taking losses from the oncoming fire from the heavy plasma cannons, but many remained and kept running. Suddenly, a red cloud erupted from the arms. Sparks filled the air as the burning gas flew. Thick black smoke clouded the air.

“I got ‘em!” Rainbow said, pressing a button inside her mech. Before Twilight could protest, Rainbow’s mech had deployed it’s wings and taken to the skies. The rainbow streak flew over the the Pyros, a D-gun shot dropped like a bomb, ripping through the ranks of the bots.

The Pyro’s turned to the skies, attempting to shoot down their attacker, but failing. The clouds of fire were avoided with ease by the rainbow streak.

“Yeee hah!” Rainbow shouted, her hooves grasping the controls of her mech as she shot through the clouds. “This is almost as fun as real flying!”

“Uh...” Twilight was still a little shocked by the scene in front of her, “Just be careful.”

“Yeah yeah,” Rainbow rolled her eyes, pulling up for another run. “This is what I DO, Twi!”

“Uh huh,” the laser tower completed with a clank and moved into position. “Laser tower’s online, by the way.”

“Fine fine,” Rainbow said carelessly, dropping another ball of disintegration onto the oncoming swath of units. With the Pyros finished, Reapers and Goliaths (both heavy assault tanks) were rolling onto the battlefield. While behind them, Slashers (mobile anti-air trucks) rolled, their weapons turned to the sky.

A noise smashed through speakers of Rainbow and Twilight’s suits. It was an ominous noise that made the hairs on the backs of their necks stand up. Little red streaks shot through the sky, curving as they closed in on Rainbow. Another ball of disintegration dropped out of the sky, coupled with a volley of plasma from the Guarders and the CORE force was destroyed...leaving only twisted wreckage in it’s wake.

“We did it-” Rainbow’s voice sizzled out. Twilight turned her head skyward, and saw a burning mech. One wing was missing as the battle-worn machine spiraled towards the ground. A smoke trail lit up the sky, sparks and various pieces of machinery dropped to the ground, littering the trail with wreckage. Twilight gasped.

A huge explosion filled the air. A mushroom cloud rose where the mech used to be... the sky lit up with ash and fire as the machine was destroyed. Twilight sat there, agape, looking at the pile of parts that was her friend.

“Is everything alright?!” Chem Tech’s urgent voice said over the radio, concerned. Twilight gulped and waited a few minutes before answering. A tear trickled down her cheek. This couldn’t be happening, she thought.

“Rainbow,” Twilight sobbed, “Rainbow... she’s... dead.” A stunned silence followed.

“She was a good mare,” Chem Tech said, sniffling a little herself, “Return to base, Twilight.”

“Yes ma’am,” Twilight sobbed, “OIAAS, take us home.” The mech began to clump towards home, glinting in the evening sun. The wreckage of Rainbow’s mech lay on the hill where it had landed, devoid of a head. A small yellow streak had gone unnoticed by Twilight, she just thought it was another piece of wreckage, another part of her friends demise... but it wasn’t. It might actually be her friend’s salvation.

Celestia awoke to a soft beeping, she opened her eyes for the first time in a day, only to discover that it looked almost exactly the same with her eyes closed. She closed her eyes again, then opened them... Still almost the same. She was in a dark room, that much was clear, but where, what, and why?

Her horn glowed, she tried to feed magic up to it from inside herself, but, much to her surprise, found that it hurt. Pain; pain like somepony was performing acupuncture on her veins shot through her. She stopped trying to use internal magic, but instead twirled some nearby magic onto her horn. Her horn itself felt stiff, like old clotted up magic blocked it, but this passed quickly with use.

Twirling nearby magic onto her horn, Celestia created a ball of magical energy on the tip of her horn, enough to light the room. Next to her, monitors beeped consistently, IV drips were hooked into her arms, and a small table sat, unwavering; yes, it just sat. The walls were white, yellow in the soft light from Celestia’s horn. A few cabinets sat in the corner, but besides that the room was bare. Celestia herself was lying on a hospital bed.

Suddenly the door opened, and a few doctors walked in, they flipped the light switch, powering up a magical lamp in the ceiling, allowing Celestia to power down her horn.

“Hello, your highness,” one of the doctors clumsily attempted conversation while wheeling an instrument away from Celestia, “Uh; great weather today!”

“Yes, that is very possible,” Celestia said, coolly. “Would you mind explaining how exactly I got in here, and why we aren’t dead?”

“Great, now she needs a psychologist as well as the ICU,” the second doctor muttered to himself. The first stomped on his hoof to shut him up before the princess heard anything.

“I assure you, my mental state is not compromised,” Celestia smiled slightly. The second doctor looked a little sheepish, but maintained his cool demeanor. “I merely wish to know why we aren’t all blasted to, pardon my language, hell.”

“Ok, well...” the first doctor thought a few seconds. “I can’t tell you that, but I’m sure Shining Armor of Luna can-” he was cut off by his impatient colleague.

“We can tell you that you need to take it easy, let Luna raise the sun for a few days, after your wacko antics up there,” he gestured to the ceiling. “And try not to use magic for a few days.”

“I will, as you say,” Celestia responded coolly, “Am I free to leave?”

“Yes, if you don’t do anything stup-” the second doctor was cut off by a jab from his colleague.

“Yes, just try to follow the advice my friend here gave you,” the first doctor said, looking annoyed at his dirty faced colleague.

“Thank you. I will,” Celestia ruffled her wings as she got out of bed, stepping past the two stallions. The door opened and closed after the princess, leaving the two doctors in the room. On one, a fake smile released as he took his hoof out of the others mouth.

“What’d you do that for?!” the second doctor said, rubbing his previously blocked mouth.

“You can’t say ‘stupid’ to royalty!” the first hissed as they began to walk out of the room.

“Sure you can, if little twerps like you aren’t around!” the door swung shut, and the lamp extinguished, plunging the room into darkness.

“My sister,” Celestia called, walking up behind her Luna’s black form. The two were standing on the star observatory’s balcony, the place typically used for the raising and lowering of the sun and moon. Luna stood, her back turned to her sister, concentrating as she forced the sun down over the horizon and raised the moon at the same time.

“Are you alright?” Celestia asked, a little concerned at her sister’s silence. In truth, Luna was thinking over what to say, or at least what to say that woulden’t seem too offensive. Using the magic she was performing an excuse, she continued to think, her face gritted in fake determination.

“No.”

Celestia jumped back in surprise. Luna turned to face her sister, her face now filled with genuine anger.

“What did you think you were doing?!” Luna said, her tone rising as she stepped towards the rapidly retreating Celestia. “You could have died! You could have KILLED YOURSELF!”

“I-I--” Celestia stuttered, unsure how to respond to her sister’s newfound rage. She backed against the door, her thoughts filled with shame.

“Why?!” Luna asked, her voice venomous but soft, “Why did you do that?”

“I-I-I-was just trying to protect my kingdom,” Celestia backed further against the wall as Luna progressed towards her.

“Your KINGDOM is in greater danger now than it was,” Luna said, her voice rising as she attempted to drive every word home in her sister’s mind, “Shining Armor almost died CLEANING UP AFTER YOUR MISTAKES!” These last words were said in full Canterlot Royal Voice; Luna looked down on Celestia, her eyes slits with rage.

“Wh-wh-” Celestia was so taken aback she couldn’t form any words...all that escaped her gaping mouth was air. “How?” she finally managed to say.

“Celestia,” Luna sighed slightly, but her mane was still tinged with the redness of rage, “Your antics, your rage, attracted the attention of the armies.” Celestia’s eyes were wide with shock, but she nodded for her sister to continue. “We almost destroyed by a Brawler swarm, one that destroyed the K-25 after you fell. Shining formed a band of the unicorns from the Canterlot School for Gifted Unicorns and performed a mass magical transfer between them, into him.

“They struck down the Brawlers with raw magical energy, shot through Shining Armor’s horn. That much power was only meant to be for us alicorns... it usually kills normal ponies, bursting their blood vessels with so much power and letting them bleed to death.” Luna looked at her sister and sighed, but continued. “Shining Armor almost met that fate. The doctors are tending to him now, he is in the ICU. And it is not looking promising.”

“Wh-wh-wh-wh-will he be okay?” Celestia managed to say after a long attempt to grasp the right word.

“I do not know,” Luna looked at her sister, “But he will probably never be able to use magic again.” These words hit Celestia like a bombshell. The silence that ensued was enough to kill a bird, just out of sheer quantity.

A unicorn without magic is like a bird without wings. They can live, but it is neither comfortable nor guaranteed. And for Shining Armor, one of Equestria’s key defenses in a time of need, it would be disastrous for national security as well.

“I hope you feel-” Luna started, her eyes still burning with frustration.

“I recognize the lengths of my actions, Luna,” Celestia said, “I am sorry to have been as unwise as I was, allowing anger to get the better of my cognitive facilities.”

After receiving the nonchalant statement, Luna recovered herself and responded. “Good, but that does not help the situation at hoof.”

“I realize that as well, my sister,” Celestia looked at Luna with an impertinent glare, “And I intend to take full responsibility for my actions.”

“I hope you know what that means, sister,” Luna said, her teeth grinding slightly as the words escaped her mouth. As much as she loved her sister, one cannot take it lightly when your sibling knocks you out and almost kills herself, inadvertently almost killing many others.

“Yes,” Celestia sighed, turning away from her sister, “I am aware. I will now check on Shining Armor, I want to see the extent of the damage I caused.” The sun princess trotted down the passage, dejectedly.

Shining Armor lay on a bed, the sheets as pure white as his coat, asleep, but in pain. Several units surrounded his horn, beeping as they worked on it in willing solitude. Doctors dressed in green scrubs surrounded the stallion, tending to him, checking information on the various monitors that surrounded the room. Their faces hid behind white masks, filtering the air they breathed.

Celestia walked into the observation deck, her face clouded with worry. Another doctor stood with her, overlooking the scene in front of them. “Will he be alright?” Celestia asked, walking up behind the stallion.

“I don’t know,” he turned, facing the princess, “But he will never be able to use magic again.” Celestia gulped.

“What is the extent of the damage?” she asked with growing concern.

“Well,” the doctor paused, as if about to deliver a message that would break the princess’s heart, “His horn’s melted.”

“What?!” Celestia recoiled in surprise. Nopony’s horn had melted before, I mean, it was theoretically possible, but it had never happened before.

“His horn has melted. The tissue has completely melted on the inside and the bone liquefied, flowed down his skull and re-hardened,” the doctor sighed, “We’ve never seen anything like it.” Celestia stood, agape, processing the information.

A unicorn’s horn is an appendage, growing directly out of the skull. The outside ‘shell’ consists of a special kind of superconductive bone, designed to allow magic to flow freely in and out of it, also acting like lightning rod to guide outgoing magic. The internal tissue is the vessel of transportation for the energy, muscles on the sides of it allow the unicorn to shape the magic, thus creating ‘spells’ before releasing them through the horn. The horn can twirl and shape external magic, but ultimately it is reeled in and shaped by the internal tissue.

So with both the internal and external areas burnt out, there is next to no hope of using magic ever again, unless a miracle happens, that is.

“What kind of a chance do we have that he’ll survive?” Celestia said, reverting to more basic hopes.

“About a ninety-five percent chance; I think he’ll make it out of this, just not with a horn,” the doctor turned, looking back over the operating room. The medical ponies were retreating, cleaning up in their own wake, leaving the room as organized as when they entered. Celestia’s mind returned to Shining’s horn, grasping at any passing idea.

“What about reconstitution magic?” she asked suddenly, reverting from her slightly glazed disposition in less than a second. The doctor jumped before answering.

“Reconstitution magic would be dangerous, I’m afraid. We don’t have all the materials from his horn, and reconstituting a bodily area is, well, just plain dangerous. I could go wrong, especially when hooking it up to the existing bodily functions. The aim would have to be so precise, to line every bloodstream up, it would have next to no chances of successfully bonding,” he explained, scratching his neck absent mindedly. “I’m sorry, princess.”

“What?” Celestia said with a start, “Oh, don’t be sorry, it’s not your fault. Anyway, I must try to catch some rest, good evening doctor.”

“Uh, good evening to you, your highness. Hope you get some rest,” the door swung shut, leaving Celestia in the empty hallways of the Canterlot medical wing. She sighed, her ethereal mane swinging from side to side as she bowed her head in shame, mostly to herself.

‘You were stupid. You should have realized that this would happen! You don’t deserve to rule a country,’ one side of her head thought, it’s voice sinister with anger.

‘I was just doing what I thought was necessary to protect my kingdom,’ she thought back, ‘I made a stupid choice, yes, but I had good intentions at heart.’

‘Oh, you think so huh? You were just too caught up in your own anger to realize what this would do to your country!’ the first side came back, venom in it’s voice.

‘Well I- I-’ Celestia thought back, desperately trying to grab onto something positive in the situation.

‘You’re just a self-centered egotistical maniac!’ the first voice plunged on, beating on Celestia’s self-esteem like a punching bag, ‘You never, ever, EVER think about other ponies when you’re angry, huh? Why’d you attack the changeling queen? You should have seen outright how powerful it was, yeah? You were just too caught up in “defending your kingdom” to notice what it would actually do to it!’

‘I- I- I- I guess you’re right,’ Celestia hung her head, ‘I’m not fit to rule. I’m not fit to do anything.’ A tear rolled down her cheeks as she silently teleported to her room, a blast of yellow magic enveloping her before disappearing.

‘Luna is much more fit to rule than I,’ she thought sadly as she lay down on her bed, ‘I will hand over my resignation in the morning.’ In the first time since Nightmare Moon’s banishment, the sun princess cried. Wet tears soaked into her pillow, the salty residue making it’s way into her mouth. Suddenly, the room was lit with a green glow, the sharp sound of dragon fire alighted to her ears.

Celestia jerked out of the state of self-pity to which she had fallen, sitting up from bed, her face wet with tears. A scroll sat in the middle of the room, slightly torn parchment wrapped in a red ribbon. Wet splotches covered it, as though it had been written in the same room as a bunch of crying ponies. A warm yellow glow enveloped the parchment, it flew over to the princess, her curiosity overriding her depression.

Unrolling the paper in a much better mood than she had been a minute ago, she focused on the paper, the joy of reading a letter from her student, shoving all thoughts of depression to the side. As she read, however, her face fell, falling until it could fall no further.

Dear Princess Celestia

I regret to inform you of the death of mare and element bearer Rainbow Dash. She died at 18:24 hours on April fourth, defending the Crystal Empire from outside forces. I am sorry to bring you such news, but I felt you had to be informed.

Your dearest student,
Twilight Sparkle

This was too much. Celestia broke into sobs of anguish, mourning, and general self-pitying. After awhile, she fell into a weary sleep, only to be haunted by her fears through dreams.