//------------------------------//
// Chapter 9 
// Story: Test of Time: Arc 1: Awakening 
// by NoPonysLand 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 9 – Spring / Twilight
Monday, 24 June 1003
“Oh, this is refreshing!” Spring laughed, horn crackling with power. “I hast nay hadst this much fun in weeks!” Before her cowered fifty-three of Celestia's royal guard. They had spotted her coming in from the south, and had made the mistake of trying to shoot her down on her way to Canterlot. The unfortunate guard who had, and his six nearest companions, now found themselves vaporized by her returning shot. Really, though. A guard post of sixty? Against her?
The sun was just rising now, and its halo lit Spring from behind, as she grinned evilly at the assembled ponies. “You hast no idea how very much I missed this.” One flick of her hoof, and there were only forty-five guards. The remaining ponies looked to their erstwhile comrades, blood leaking from their chests where Spring had forced their armor to contract, and bowed to her.
“Please, goddess! Spare us!” One of the ponies said. “We were wrong to stand in your way!”
“That ye wast.” Spring said. “Ye ponies disgust me. Hast thee not sworn loyalty to Celestia! Ye shouldst be'st glad to die in service to thy chosen goddess! To think that ye wouldst break so easily? It is disgraceful. Ye don't deserve my time.” Spring glared. A flash of light, and every one of the groups helmets melted onto their screaming faces. “Oh, dost shut up. Thy screaming is irksome. Ye shouldst be'st glad that I hast let ye live at all.” She took off, shaking her head. “Ponies these days.”
She was still a few minutes out from Canterlot. The day was beautiful, and the sun warm. Spring took it slow, enjoying the feeling of flight. Oh, that all days could be'st this bright. She lazily drew  in towards the city. No need to rush things. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a company of ponies on a path below her; after examination, she was mildly surprised to find that it was Twilight and her friends. She considered finishing them off now, but decided against it. She wanted Twilight to see her work before she killed her. Anyway, Canterlot was so close now. She could always come back later, after she had had her fun.
The city appeared to be still sleeping as she approached. Funny. She would have thought that the ponies of Canterlot would be the 'up with the sun' types. She sighed. Oh well. It was always so cute how ponies reacted to her coming, with the screaming and the panic, but it couldn’t be helped.
She flew up to the edge of the city, her horn alight. She paused, letting her power build. With an explosive release, a beam of aquamarine energy five centimeters thick and five hundred meters long shot from her horn, slicing across the first row of buildings from left to right in about two seconds. There was a pause, and the noise of the world dropped off to nothing. Two seconds. Three.
A line of explosions followed across where her beam had touched the ground, the buildings obliterated without resistance. That aught to hast gotten their attention.
The ponies began to scream. She heard the panic spread across the city. She grinned. “CITIZENS OF CANTERLOT! WHEREFORE DO'ST YE SCREAM AND FLEE? THY GODDESS HAST COME!” she laughed, the city shaking with her voice. “THERE SHOULDST BE'ST REVELRY AT MY PRESENCE!” she let forth another burst of energy, targeting the nearest statue of Celestia. “OH, WHERE ART THOU, GODDESS OF THE SUN! THY PRECIOUS PONIES NEED THEE!”
A wave of pink energy erupted from the top of the palace, quickly spreading across the city and forming a spherical pink barrier around the buildings, between Spring and her target. There was a flash as a hexagonal pattern tessellated itself across the internal walls, securing the city in a thirty thousand strong pattern of tiles, which slowly faded into the background in a shimmering of golden light. Spring blinked. That was... not expected.
Cautiously, she tapped the barrier. The barrier did not react. Spring tapped the barrier harder. Again, no reaction. She rolled her eyes. “Hast thee lost all thy sense in the past thousand years? Rule hast made thee soft. Thy best defense hast no method of repelling attack? Not even a simple shock spell?” she sighed. “I really expected better from thee.”
Spring's horn began to glow, her power building as she prepared her spell. The world around her went dark as her own light grew. Ponies were gathering in defensive formations behind their barrier. There were considerably more than the sixty guards she had encountered on the way over. Closer to two thousand. Spring smiled. Celestia must have increased her guard in preparation. At least she had not gone completely soft. There might be some challenge left in this world, after all.
With one precise strike, Spring struck the barrier directly on the nearest intersection of hexagons. In a flash, the hidden pattern reappeared, her magic highlighting the edges in a mix of gold and aquamarine. The tiles flashed briefly yellow, then shattered. The side of the shield nearest Spring caved in in waves, the hexagons failing one by one as her magic tore their foundations apart.


## ^ ##


Twilight watched with a mixture of shock, awe, and frustration as the Canterlot barrier caved in in an impressive display of light and magic, the tiles collapsing inwards, the sphere becoming indented, a puncture hole spreading across its surface.
“Four seconds. Given the rate of decay, we were literally four seconds too late.” Twilight said flatly.
“Really? I mean, really?” Rarity said, flabbergasted.
“Come on!” Dash yelled. “You can't possibly be serious. Four seconds!”
“This is bad. This is real bad.” Applejack said. “I don't know what the hey you are talking about with 'four seconds'. We're still 20 minutes out.”
“No. We're less than a second, now that Canterlot is in visible range. I can teleport us, remember? I just need to know where we are.” Twilight's horn began to glow.
“Then what are we standing around here talking for! Get us in!” Dash admonished.
By now, the barrier had collapsed about 45 degrees in all directions from the point of impact, and though it appeared to be stopping, the eighth of the barrier nearest the point of impact had fallen completely. More than ample space for a single pony, or even a few thousand, to fly in. Or teleport in.
With a burst of concentration and power, Twilight teleported herself and her friends inside the city. Smoke filled their lungs as soon as they took a breath, causing them to cough in succession.
Ponies were fleeing around the six as they took in the surroundings. There was massive damage in the southern edge of the city, but most of the remainder seemed to be okay. The heavy haze of smoke came from it being largely trapped by the barrier around them. The nearest fire was sixty meters from them.
There was slash of aquamarine light, and another row of explosions racked the city. The point of impact was twenty meters in front of the Elements, but the shock-wave still rattled them, blasting their manes and tails back as if they were standing before a massive storm. A few small pieces of concrete shrapnel hit them, stinging but doing very little damage.
“Does she have artillery!?” Dash asked incredulously.
“No. She has magic.” Twilight said. “She's a goddess. Unhindered, she should be able to destroy a city the size of Canterlot in about... thirty minutes. Perhaps only half that if she's rushing.”
“Half an hour to destroy a city. Great.” Applejack said. “So, what do we do? Got any of yer plans, Twilight?”
“Well, no. Um...” Twilight tried to think, but with the noise and the light, it was hard to keep her mind on track.
“Princess!” Twilight was knocked out of her stupor by the voices of some royal guards. “We've lost sight of our comrades. What do you command us, princess!” They stood at attention, seemingly pleased at the possibility of having a task to complete.
Okay. There are nine of them, two unicorns, an earth-pony, and six pegasi... I can work with this.
Twilight nodded to the ponies. “You six, take to the air. Clear the smoke out! We need our airspace clear. We can't hit a target we can't see. The unicorns, alert as many subjects as you can as to the locations of safe routs of evacuation. We need to get them out of here. And, you, earth pony, you need to show me where Celestia and Luna are. I need to meet up with them.”
“Whatever you command, princess!” 
The pegasi took off in a rush of clear air, the unicorns breaking and heading towards the civilian sector. The earth pony motioned for her to follow. “The princesses are in the barracks. They were delivering an inspection when the... when she...” the pony shuddered, his dull blue-gray mane falling in front of his wide, scared eyes.
“It's going to be okay.” Twilight said, surprising herself with the firmness and authority in her voice. “Spring will never make it past the first ring.(1) The castle will not fall today, let alone civilian sector. Trust in our princesses... trust in me. I will keep you safe.”
The stallion seemed to calm down. “Of course. I will never let that forsaken goddess stray one hoof into the second ring!” his eyes narrowed, his fear replaced by determination. Twilight smiled internally. That went well. If all leadership requires is some strong words and confidence, I might do better at this than I thought.
“Quickly, follow me!” he motioned for her to follow again, darting through the streets. Twilight and her friends kept pace without too much trouble. There were additional explosions as they passed, though they were getting more distant. Spring's attacks seemed to be heading in the other direction.
“What is your name?” Twilight asked the stallion.
“Silver. Silver Shine.” the stallion said.
“Silver, do you know where Shining Armor is?” Twilight asked, her mind trying to formulate a plan of attack.
“He's away from Canterlot at the moment. I do not know where.” the stallion informed her.
Twilight let out a sigh of relief, then chided herself for doing so. It would have been better if Shining was here. He would have been able to form a much stronger shield around the city than the projection towers were capable of on their own. Still, he was safer this way...
The sky lit with aquamarine light. There were no thunderous explosions, but instead the air filled with the sound of magical blasts, hitting the earth with the frequency of rain. The smog shook for a second, and cleared, the air around Spring blasted outwards. Twilight stared in horror as she fired off blast after blast in rapid succession. Each one contained less than the required energy to kill a pony, but more than enough to break a bone or ignite a flame. She's letting off forty, fifty blasts a second!
Her barrage ended after fifteen seconds, much of the ground within one hundred and fifty meters of her on fire. There was a collective groaning of the injured ponies, over two hundred, in the waste of the burning city below her.
“CELESTIA! THY PONIES ART SUFFERING! FACE ME, BEFORE I GET BORED.” Spring called, mirth in her tones. “OR DOST THEE CONSIDER THIS TO BE'ST 'ACCEPTIBLE LOSSES' TO AVOID CONFLICT?” Spring laughed. “IT IS TOO LATE FOR THAT, I FEAR. I WILT TAKE THY CITY AS PAYMENT FOR THY BETREYAL -”
There was a flash of golden light, a beam of power burning with the intensity of the sun striking Spring in the chest. There was a blinding flash originating from the contact, and Twilight was temperately blinded. Her eyes cleared, two shapes silhouetted against the sun, turning to face Spring.
“Looks like I found them...”


## ^ ##


Spring found herself being tossed backwards, struggling to stay in the air. The attack had come suddenly, and she had had barely enough time to erect a sufficient shield before the spell had struck. With some effort, she gained enough lift to remain at her chosen altitude. The smoke had cleared in the wake of the beam, revealing her assailants to her. Not that there was really any doubt who they were.
“There wast a time, dear daughter, that thee hadst the respect to wait until after thy opponent had finished their address before-”
Luna released a flurry of bolts, Celestia following with three intense beams. Spring was startled for a moment before initiating an evasive maneuver. Her underside lit up as a fourth, purple beam, rose up to hit her from below. She barely had time to react, Twilight's attack severing half of her tail, one of Celestia's grazing her side. By this time, Celestia had already readied seven spears of ice, which Spring barely managed avoid, while Luna clipped her left wing with her a conic burst of energy, which surrounded her, restricting her movements. Spring turned, noticing several tiny purple beams cutting through the smoke. They crossed and centered on her.
Spring darted through the cone, letting forth an inverted parabolic wave of force, throwing the entire combined energy of Luna's attack back at her whilst clearing her path to avoid Twilight's magically targeted force beam. She barely made it, the beam breaking through just three decimeters behind her. With a swipe, she generated four aquamarine specters to swarm Celestia. Luna deftly avoided her reversal, the resulting packet of energy detonating two hundred meters behind her. Spring turned to send something down to keep Twilight off her, when she realized that she had no idea where exactly Twilight was. Using a multi-focus magical targeting spell to make sure that thy spell met its mark whilst simultaneously rendering it impossible to ascertain where, exactly, it originated from. Not bad. How thee managed to accrue the wisdom of twenty years in one night is lost to me, but I wilt nay make the mistake of underestimating thee again, Twilight Sparkle. Thee breathes thy last.
“I see that thee art quite angry with me. I shouldst remind thee, Celestia, that thee hast brought this upon thyself! Ye broke our agree-”
Celestia generated six slashes of golden light, Luna surrounding them with a energetic shock barrier, while from behind a great wave of purple light leaped into place to seal her exit. Spring surrounded herself in a cone of energy, plunging through Twilight's spell. It covered the largest area, and was therefor the weak-point. She broke out without much trouble, to find herself surrounded by an innumerable flurry of exactly five hundred and thirty seven bursts in hundreds of colors. Two thousand guards, twenty-five percent unicorn...
Not without effort, Spring formed a shield of energy to absorb the blasts. It took about two hundred before shattering, giving Spring the three quarters of a second needed to drop herself into high concentration mode. The three hundred remaining bolts rose up at her in slow motion, her mind planing her movement paths, her magic surging to augment her body. Seven hundred and fifty possible paths analyzed. Most effective avoidance pattern selected, 99.6% success rate. Initiating doge in two tenths of a second.
Her magic caught up with her mind, her body spinning on autopilot, following the planed out instructions she had formulated. Her movements were faster than thought or reaction, having already done the planing before; her body became a machine, following its preprogramed actions. One second passed. Three hundred bolts missed their target. She felt a sharp pain on her left flank and underside, where the two bolts she couldn’t doge had hit her. Okay, only 99.3% success rate. Nopony's perfect.
“You talk to much.” Spring muttered to herself. But, perhaps, she could use that to her advantage. Time for a reversal, dear daughters.
“Thee shouldst really think before ye-” this time, Spring stuck, Celestia and Luna just beginning to power up their spells. With a burst of power, Spring summoned a great fire ball and hurled it at the others, dropping quickly and throwing in a rapid selection of bursts in an alternating random pattern, blanketing every square meter of sky around them. The fireball turned blue and dissipated, Celestia already aiming her spell, their eyes going wide as they noticed her secondary attack, too close now to doge. Celestia re-targeted her beam onto Spring's bursts, cutting and dispelling them as quickly as she could. Luna, on the other hand, had already spent her reserve spell. She folded her wings and went into free-fall in an effort to escape the blasts, but the acceleration was far from sufficient, and she cried out as three of the bursts impacted. She struggled to stay in the air. Spring kept the heat on, slashing out with her hoof, a crescent arc of power bearing down on Luna. She split it with a burst of her own, but lost her concentration, and began to lose altitude as she attempted to get her flight rhythm back. Without looking, Spring streaked to the left, missing Celestia's retaliation strike by a good few meters, only to run mere centimeters away from Twilight's burst, the purple beam passing so close to her face that she nearly went cross eyed. This is not good. I don't think I canst take three of them at once. She needed to take one of them out of the game. And she had a good idea who the weakest link was...


## ^ ##


Twilight watched in horror and awe as Spring managed to deftly avoid, retaliate, and gain advantages against the two celestial sisters. It was clear that Spring outclassed Luna and Celestia combined, though admittedly not by much. Still, to be able to take two alicorns on at once, and gain the upper hoof regardless... It was clear to Twilight, even with her help, Spring was on the winning side. The sides were close enough that the battle could take fifteen minutes, perhaps longer, but from what she had seen, at the end, Celestia and Luna would be dead, and Canterlot would be...
No. She would not let that happen. While she could still stand in her way, no matter the personal cost, she would protect her friends, her companions, her city, her subjects, her little ponies. They needed her. She would not let them down.
She saw Luna struggling, Spring already flying out of Celestia's attack's range. She targeted the space in front of Spring, reaching inside herself and releasing another beam of purple light. Spring pulled up just short; Twilight could swear that the beam lit her face purple for a moment. She did a half-roll, arcing downwards, Celestia rushing to support Luna. Spring turned, her eyes locking onto Twilight's almost instantly. Panic rose in Twilight's chest. How does she know where I am?
Spring's horn began to glow, and Twilight steeled herself for the blow. To her surprise, Spring instead created a flaming wall behind her, smoke obscuring her path. Twilight noticed shock cross Celestia's face as she realized what was happening.
“TWILIGHT!” her voice full of anguish, Celestia dropped into a dive, her horn aglow, her eyes turning white. But Spring was less than twenty meters away, and Celestia was more than two hundred. Spring's hoof was beginning to glow, force building as she streaked at Twilight. Nothing could get in the way in time. Spring would close the distance in a half-second. Two and one half times the minimum reaction speed. She had only enough time for one conscious action.

There was only one thing in her mind.


Little filly Twilight Sparkle stuck her hoof in the air, and made that little half shield her brother was so very proud of. A smile crossed her face. “Did I do it this time?”


There was a flash of light, brighter than the sun. The ground shook, a shock-wave blowing the nearby structures to pieces. Instantly, everything within thirty meters was vaporized. Dust filled the air.
Eventually, the dust cleared. Spring was standing on three hooves, her fourth pressed against Twilight's. Twilight was also on three hooves, her eyes locked on Springs. The two stared at each other. A shiver went through Spring. Blood leaked from her hoof.
The world seemed to pause, a slow drip of blood trailing from Spring onto Twilight, slowly falling down her hoof. Twilight's eyes slid shut, her body rag-doling from the point of impact in a wave. Twilight collapsed, out cold.


## ^ ##


Spring rolled her eyes. “Figures.” She shook her hoof, blood dripping from it. “Congratulations, Twilight. Thee hast drawn the first blood in this battle.” With a quick flash of aquamarine light, her hoof healed, ceiling shut. Spring put her hoof over Twilight's head. “Solace, I am sure.”
Spring hesitated. This was it. She could take care of the problem right now. Twilight was at her mercy, but she only had five, perhaps ten seconds until Celestia got there and the battle began anew. If she wanted to kill Twilight Sparkle, she needed to do it now.
Right now.
Any second.
Thee thinks she is interesting. Not her cause, not her motive, but what she is, what she is doing. Bright, naive, full of hope for the future, being the hero with her collection of friends. She reminds thee of thyself, when thee wast young. That is why thee didst nay kill her last night, and it is why thee art not going to kill her now. Thee craves the challenge. Thee thinks she could be a worthy opponent, given enough time, and thee misses that from thy life.
“Stupid sentiment.” Spring muttered. She paused. Her hoof was alight. One touch, and Twilight's head would separate from her body. It would take care of the problem. She was obviously going to stand against her. Yes, Spring was sure she could best her, but after today, she wasn’t so sure she could do it without effort. Especially if she had backup. This might be her only opportunity to do this for weeks, weeks in which Twilight could continue to be a thorn in her side. There was no logical reason to spare her.
She closed her eyes. Her hoof stopped glowing. She put it down lightly. “Thee hast better make this fun for me, Twilight Sparkle.” she whispered quietly into her ear.
“Stand away from her!” Celestia landed some three meters away from Spring, her horn alight, her eyes ablaze. “Don't you dare hurt her.”
“Thee art a bit too late for that, Celestia.” Spring said quietly.
“Twilight! No...” Celestia began to shake. “You... killed her. How dare you.” She glared at Spring, her eyes burning with one thousand years of hurt, sadness, and power. “I will not let this stand. You will be stopped. No obstacle too great, no location too sacred. I will hunt you, Spring, until you beg for me to kill you for this. For what you've done. My city, in flames, my ponies, dead, my student-”
Celestia was interrupted as Spring let lose a wave of power, an aquamarine haze zipping over and punching hundreds of millimeter radius holes in Celestia's flesh.
“What goes around comes around!” Spring laughed, Celestia collapsing from the blow. “Oh, get over it. That wilt nay kill thee.” Her horn began to glow. “This, however, will. Goodnight, Celestia.”
“Not on my watch, ya no good varmint!”
“You'll have to go through us first!”
“Nopony gets to hurt Twilight and get away with it!”
“So help me, I will sew your feathers to your side and make a pillow from you!”
“I, um...”
Spring rolled her eyes. “Really? I couldst hast sworn ye five wouldst hast died in the...”
Spring looked around. A smile crossed her face. “Well, wouldst thee look at that.” She laughed. “Twilight, thee hast helped me already! My work here is done. I wilt leave thee to the clean up, Celestia.”
“You can't be serious.” Luna said. Celestia's body glowed as she healed herself. “Do you think we're going to just let you walk out of here after this?”
“Yes, I do'st rather.” She motioned at Twilight, and a simple force rune appeared on her. “In exchange for Twilight's life.”
Celestia's eyes flashed with hope briefly, before her glare resumed.
Rarity, without looking away from Spring, cut a generous slit in her leg, splashing Twilight with blood. “I don't think so.” The new magic lines muddled Springs rune, the color fading.
“So ye wishes for more destruction? So be it.” Spring laughed. “It is not like I will be'st here for much longer.”
Spring wasted no time, taking to the air in a rush. Celestia and Luna sent bursts after her, taking to the air as well. “What, exactly, art thee looking for?” Spring asked coyly, letting a burst of energy out at the city below. A flash, and another building went up in smoke. Celestia flinched. “Oh, art thee thinking of the ponies there? Thee wast the one who wanted to continue.” Spring laughed, launching a piercing strike at Celestia and Luna. They dodged without issue, the beam continuing until it hit another row of buildings, each igniting in turn. Luna returned the beam, while Celestia warped her own power around her sisters. A stream of gold and blue arced through the air, barely missing Spring. By that time, Luna had already released a flurry of magic javelins, while Celestia was powering up five balls of golden light. Spring returned Luna's favor with magical spikes of her own, dodging around Celestia's spheres, dancing through the air with her two daughters. For it was a dance, three goddesses in contention, the mortal world burning below them as their conflict raged. Celestia and Luna began to become careless. Their missed blasts and bursts began to impact the city, and Canterlot was rocked by explosions of gold, blue, and aquamarine.
And the ponies below? They burned.


## ^ ##


“What are we going to do?” Fluttershy asked, fear in her voice.
“I...” Rarity paused. “I don't know.”
Applejack rolled her eyes. “Well, we're in a city under attack, with an injured party. I say we get out of the battle zone!”
“The entirety of Canterlot is a battle zone!” Rarity said, exasperated. “Where, exactly, do you suggest we go to?”
“How about the castle?” Dash asked. The other four turned, startled. “It's not that ridiculous. Spring's trying to destroy the city and cause as much lasting damage as possible. She's not targeting landmarks, she's targeting population. And Celestia's palace is build to withstand lots of force. I think it's our best bet right now.”
“Oh, oh, I know a secret way in!” Pinkie said suddenly. “I can get us in undetected, and out of the way of any rescue and response teams. Quickly, somepony grab Twilight! We have no time to lose!”
The sky lit up in a wide array of colors, the air shimmering with magic. There was a blinding flash of golden energy to their right, and the resulting explosion knocked them off their hooves.
“Is Celestia attacking us too?” Dash asked incredulously.
“Nah, I think she's just bad at aiming. Not like she's had much practice fer a good thousand years.” Applejack said, brushing herself off and getting back to her hooves. “Now, I say we follow Pinkie. We need to get out of here, right now.”
“Oh, I wish Twilight was awake.” Fluttershy said nervously. “She'd know what to do.”
“Well, she ain't. And she ain't ever going to be unless we get!” Applejack said, picking Twilight up. “Dash, Rarity, get her on my back.” Rainbow Dash and Rarity complied, lifting Twilight onto Applejack's back. “Pinkie, lead us to your secret way.” Pinkie nodded.  Applejack turned to Fluttershy. “Fluttershy, calm down.” Fluttershy squeaked, then focused. “Are we all good now?” Applejack turned to survey the others. They nodded. “Okay, let's go!”
Pinkie Pie took the lead, weaving her way through the city. Applejack shuddered, and sighed in relief. I don't know how much longer I could have held appearances for.


## ^ ##


Pinkie ran through the streets, making sure that the others were close behind. She sought frantically for some kind of indication of where to head. She knew no secret paths. What she did know was that moving targets were harder to hit. I hope this doesn’t get us into any trouble, but we needed to move. Sorry, guys.
Eventually, she found herself faced with a collapsed building, blocking the path. Pinkie turned around, looking into the shocked and scared eyes of her companions. “Don't be such grumps! The path is...” Pinkie looked around. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a glimmer of red light. “This way!” she called, bounding over in the direction of the light source. The others followed, making their way through the collapsing streets. About thirty seconds later, they came out into the mostly clear remains of a flight square. There were three unicorns in the left corner, adorned in aquamarine cloaks. A pegasus stallion lay at their hooves, not moving. 
“Is he okay?” Fluttershy asked, drawing the attention of the three ponies. They turned their heads to look at the six.
“You are the heroes of Equestria.” One mare said, her tone completely flat.
“You obey the sun.” The stallion to her left said, his eyes uncharacteristically dull.
“You will be punished.” The third pony, a young mare, stepped forward, her horn beginning to glow with red light. “Our goddess has risen to rid us of the oppression of the sun. All ponies who stand in the light must be destroyed.”
Well, that's what you get for following pretty lights. Pinkie thought, closing her eyes.


## ^ ##


Rarity's horn flashed, creating a blinding cascade of light which startled the attacker. She ran out in front of the others, starring the opposing mages down with furry in her gaze. “Try me.”
The young unicorn mare said nothing, summoning a ball of flame which she tossed at Rarity. Rarity concentrated, pushing against the air with her telekinesis. The ball of fire burst on her makeshift air cushion, dispersing in a wave of hot, dry air. Quickly, Rarity erected a cover of darkness around herself and her friends. I don't know any combat magic! We have perhaps ten seconds before she simply overwhelms me, completely ignoring her two friends!
“You really shouldn’t mess with us!” Rainbow Dash yelled from above, diving at the lead mare at nearly a quarter of the speed of sound. She took one smart step to the left, not even looking at Dash, who proceeded to slam into the earth at full tilt. There was a unpleasant crunching noise, and Rainbow Dash stopped moving. Flutteshy gasped. Rarity felt her heart sink. Not now. Not like this.
Applejack rushed out next, followed by Pinkie. “If we work together, we have a chance. Everypony, charge!” Rarity let out a flash of power, teleporting directly behind the unicorns, causing a distraction as Applejack and Pinkie cleared the distance. She recast darkness around them, inverted this time, blinding the opponents and herself. The two ponies to her sides drew what appeared to be steel daggers, holding them in their magic. Applejack got there first, barreling into the stallion, Pinkie taking the mare. The stallion grunted and fell, struggling with Applejack. The young mare turned to Rarity, hoisting her into the air with a flash of telekinetic power. Pinkie tried to tackle the other mare and got a knife in the left front leg for the trouble. Her horn lit again, wrenching the knife from Pinkie and reading for another blow. The young mare pulled at Rarity's leg, reopening the cut Rarity had made earlier. There was a scream followed by a thud, as Fluttershy got between Pinkie and the knife. Is this... are we... Rarity closed her eyes.

I won't let it.

With another flash of light, Rarity dispelled the darkness around them, determination in her eyes. A flash of light, and Rarity did what she knew. She worked with fabric.
The bindings of the cloaks of the three ponies came undone, swirling around the to block their vision. With a single swipe of her hoof, Rarity forced the contents of their cloaks down every available orifice, restitching the fabric together as she went. “You!” Rarity pulled the fabric through the ponies noses, tearing a hole through their snouts with a thousand threads. “Leave!” she ordered the fabric into their throats, stitching their airways together. “My!” she pulled up on the fabric, collapsing their throats. “Friends!” she pushed the fabric through the skin of their necks, binding them to the earth. “ALONE!” she stuck the threads down into their exposed blood vessels, until she poked a thousand little holes in the insides of their hearts. The three stopped moving.
There was silence for a few seconds, the battle seeming to pause around them.
“I... I...” Rarity said, breaking into a cold sweat. “I mean...” She felt her mind beginning to fall into shock.
“Stay with us.” Applejack said fiercely and severely, looking Rarity right in the eyes. “There might have been a better way, but there sure as hell wasn't a faster way. We can't deal with this right now. We already have two unconscious parties, and two injured. Unless we want to end up dead, we need you on your hooves.”
“But I... killed....” Rarity said, tears beginning to form at the edges of her eyes.
“Yes. You did. Get over it.” Applejack said. “We need to get to safety now. Right now.”
“But...”
Applejack hit Rarity across the face. “Get yourself together. We're in a war zone, and we've already wasted enough time with your wining. Every second we stand here increases our chances of death. Now, grab Dash, and GET!”
Rarity did as she was told, her vision clouded with tears, her body threatening to give up with every step.


## ^ ##


Applejack was dieing inside. She saw Rarity's look of hatred, aimed at both herself and Applejack, saw the glances Pinkie and Fluttershy were sharing. But there wasn't time to think about that. Sure, she wouldn’t have friends when this was over, but at least they would be alive to hate her.
“Can you run?” She asked Fluttershy briskly.
“Uh, yes!” Fluttershy squeaked, obviously terrified. Applejack's heart died a little more; her brain threw a party. The more afraid of her they were, the more likely they were to follow her instructions, and the more likely they were to live through this. What had cost them last time was a lack of coordination. Working together, the... four of them were quite a team.
“Then let's go.” She grabbed Pinkie to the side as they began to move. “You don't actually know where we're going, do you?” She said bluntly. 
Pinkie hesitated, then nodded. “Lead us to the civilian sector, then. It's going to be more protected. Say you got lost or something.” Applejack broke off from Pinkie, coming up next to Fluttershy. “You need to get in the fight. Fluttershy, I understand that you don't want to hurt anypony, including yourself. I don't care. You're our only aerial defense now. You have the greatest mobility. We need you to be wherever we need you, as soon as we need you. Do you understand?”
Fluttershy shivered, then nodded. “Alright. I... I'll be there.”
“Good.” Applejack walked briskly to Rarity. “How much magic do you have left?” She asked.
“Almost none.” Rarity said bitterly.
“Then take this.” Applejack hoofed the steel blade she had taken from her assailant to Rarity. “You have the least ability in hoof-to-hoof combat, so you need this the most.” Rarity seemed hesitant to touch the blade, but with a harsh look from Applejack, was convinced. Applejack resumed her position in the middle of the group, struggling with the weight of Twilight on her back. I just hope this is enough. I'll never forgive myself if we die anyway after all this.


## ^ ##


“Oh, what fun!” Spring laughed. “This reminds me so heavily of thy childhood.”
“You wish!” Celestia said, letting a spear of light erupt from her horn, whilst homing in with her spheres. Spring dispelled one of the three remaining spheres with a wave of energy, ducking through the resulting gap and returning fire with a wide beam of her own. Luna let forth the spell she had been concentrating on for the previous fifteen seconds, a beam of blue energy disappearing into the sky. Spring took note, beginning to build a half-shield above her. Celestia flew upwards and forwards, riding the wake of Springs attack. There was a flash of light in the high atmosphere, and the sky glowed a brilliant blue for half of a second, before a piercing beam of blue-silver energy impacted on Spring. She was thrust to the earth, her shield taking the brunt of the damage. The force was still great enough to accelerate her downwards at nearly three g's, and four seconds later Spring slammed into the ground at over one hundred meters per second.
“Ugh...” Spring sat up, a crater surrounding her point of impact. She spit out a little blood, wiping her muzzle with her hoof. “That really hurt.” shaking her head, Spring formed a bubble of energy around herself as Celestia and Luna dropped lower to reassess the situation. She concentrated, her energy building in waves, the bubble pulsing periodically as the energy content grew. Celestia went and attempted to burst her bubble, but her magic bounced off with very little effect. Luna backed up.
“Sister, clear!”
Celestia began to reverse her flight, but it was too late; with a single thought, Spring ended her containment field, the hemispherical bubble of power erupting in a wave of light, sound, and magic. The magical shock-wave caught Celestia, tossing her over one hundred meters and slamming her into the castle. Luna was far enough out to receive only enough of a shock to be pushed a few meters. There was a crashing noise as Celestia plunged through the outer wall of the palace and into the adjoining room.
Followed by a noise like rolling thunder, the entire first ring of the city shaking.
Spring smiled. “Finally! I wast waiting for this.” She grinned up at Luna.
“What did you do?!” Luna asked.
“It wast nay just me. Twilight, thee, and Celestia all contributed. Thee sees, it began when I struck Twilight directly. Thee must hast noted that her friends survived. The only way that couldst hast occurred is if Twilight deflected my spell so that it would miss. But, Luna, my spell was not directional.”
“It had to be deflected upwards to miss the ponies on the ground... but if it was deflected upwards on one side...” Luna said slowly, the situation dawning on her.
“It wast deflected downwards on the other.” Spring said. “Directly, as it happens, into the suspended basin of the city. I must say, building a city on a mountain in the specific way thee decided to confuses me to this day.”
“The burst was directed into the floor. The energy shook the ground, breaking the first line of supports. After that, every stray blast weakened the structure. And we've been fighting for ten minutes...”
“I am sorry to inform thee that thee hast used most of thy time in conflict with me.” The ground trembled again, this time a cloud of dust coming up from connection point with the mountain. “Thee hast thirty seconds.”
There was a burst of golden light which Spring sidestepped with ease. Celestia removed herself from the building, flying at the other two. “What are you doing, Luna! Hit her!”
“Celestia, we must protect the city!” Luna said. “The first ring is about to fall off the mountain!”
“Fall off the...” Celestia's eyes went wide. “How long do we -”
“Fifteen seconds now.” Spring laughed. “Don't worry, I wilt nay attack. I came here for retaliation. I do'st believe that I hast shown my power in full here. Thy city burns, like I promised. My work is done.” She paused, grinning. “Unless ye wishes to go for a third round...?”
Celestia paused. She looked hurt. Of course she did. If she let Spring go now, whatever progress she had made would be worthless. Another city would have to burn in their conflict. They would be back to square one, but next time, it wouldn’t be an attack of revenge, but a planned conflict, with much higher stakes. But, if she did not, with the collapse of the first ring, every other structure would be weakened. It would not take Spring much effort to knock the civilian sector off next, and all three knew it. Two minutes maximum, and twenty thousand would die. It was unavoidable. Spring smiled. She knew Celestia too well. No matter the future cost, she would not let these ponies die. Short sighted – it hast always been thy weakness.
Celestia struck the earth with her hoof, kicking dust into the air. She growled for a few seconds, then sighed, breaking eye contact with Spring.
“Lets go.” Celestia turned from Spring, motioning Luna to follow her.
Spring's laugh followed them as they departed, growing in volume as the two celestial sisters ran away. She considered knocking the second ring off anyway, but decided against it. If they were stupid enough to try to stop her again, then she would really let them have it. For now, she felt she had made her point.
With a flash of lightning, Spring teleported away, just as the city began to slide down the mountain side...


End Chapter 9