//------------------------------// // Chapter 31, Exchange // Story: Darkness Rising // by SkyHighFlyer //------------------------------// In the time between their arrival outside Canterlot and the time the exchange was meant to take place, Twilight learned just how difficult setting up teleportation runes really was. First the teleportation rune itself had to be inscribed. Depending on how large the area of effect was meant to be, getting the proportions right alone could be a tricky task, not to mention the complexity and sheer detail of the rune itself. Once that was finished, it then had to be linked to several other runes to collect the magical energy needed to complete the teleport. Depending on the size of the rune, a large number of gathering runes could be required to complete the teleport in any sort of timely fashion. Then a unicorn needed to use their magic to specify a destination using yet another rune. Ordinarily that would be enough, but for their purposes, everything needed to work perfectly the first time. There was no room for error in the event that anything went wrong. Once all of that was in place, each section of the system had to be tested to ensure it was working properly without actually setting off the teleport. That usually involved activating each component separately, and then quickly casting a spell to nullify the rune before it actually activated. Finally, they made one final modification. Ordinarily, a teleportation rune would have runes that would drain any magic from the system, leaving it inactive. If it didn't the draw of magical energy would have powerful side effects on the nearby area, leading up to the rune tearing itself apart, along with everything in the immediate vicinity. For their purpose however, they couldn't leave behind any traces of rune magic, as over thousands of years it had become one of their race’s greatest secrets. Rather than draining the magic, they were forced to replace it with runes that would ensure complete annihilation of the evidence. Their solution was to blow it up. It was an inelegant solution, but an effective one. By replacing the draining runes with explosion runes acting on a slight delay, they could ensure that while not a quite escape, they would leave behind nothing but a small crater. As they couldn't test these runes for obvious reasons, they drew an excessive amount of them. This would ensure that they had multiple redundancies in the event that one, or even several of them, failed to go off. At first Twilight was elated. After the first hour though that feeling quickly wore off and the pressure of the upcoming event and the complexity of the rune that they were so carefully crafting bestowed upon her stress and a sense of dread and apprehension. For the most part, Fluttershy and Rainbow just stayed off to the side, eagerly waiting for the moment this was all over, regardless of the outcome. Neither of them talked much. Crafting the rune took just over two hours. That included drawing it, testing it, and covering it with the light foliage surrounding them. As it was just drawn in the loose dirt, the explosion would destroy it entirely, and aside from the light it would make for the ten seconds or so while it was charging, nopony wouldn't even know it was there. ----- They all wore their cloaks and disguised their voices. When it was time for the exchange, they kept an eye out for anypony approaching. Swift Wind was the first to point it out. Princess Celestia and a few guards were approaching on hoof, likely due to the prisoner they brought with them. As soon as they saw that Silver Wing was safe, a feeling of relief washed over Twilight, though she reminded herself that they were not clear of danger yet, and they had yet to get out safely, and convince Celestia that Twilight was in fact who she said she was. Thus, the most daunting tasks still remained ahead of them. Each of them took up a position just on the edge of the rune. Princess Celestia approached, not even bothering to hide her anger as she normally would. She and the five guards she brought with her stopped, keeping enough of a distance to ensure they if they were attacked, they would have enough time to react to any attacks, ranged or magical, that may be directed towards them to open the conflict. Celestia's immense anger seemed almost immeasurable, yet when she spoke her voice carried with it an overwhelming sadness. “Where's Twilight?” “Don't worry, she's safe,” Twilight said, leaving no clue to her identity in her voice. “Once Silver Wing is safe she'll be released just outside Ponyville. We don't want any conflict Princess, we just want to protect our own kind.” “Then let's not delay this any longer,” She replied. Her response carried with it a sorrow no different than that of her first words, a sorrow that drowned out even the anger she felt. Indeed, it hurt Twilight to see her in such pain. As Silver Wing began walking out to meet them, Twilight even saw tears rolling down her face, reflecting the moons gentle light. Twilight looked and almost wanted to cry with her. Twilight was aware that she couldn't possibly know what Celestia was feeling at that moment, and if she did things might have turned out very differently that morning. There was just one detail that Twilight wasn't aware of when they made their plan. For all her time with Celestia, all her lessons on vampires and all the time she spent listening to Celestia's lectures on why they could never be trusted, she never realized how deeply that mistrust ran. From the moment Celestia saw that Twilight wasn't with them, she knew that Twilight was already dead. Wherever she was, she was gone, and it wasn't worth letting her killers get away just for the vain and distant hope she may still be alive somehow. She knew in her heart that there was no hope to save Twilight now, and all she could do, all that anypony could do, was fight on in her memory. Twilight expected that she would allow them to leave peacefully to ensure that she was safe. The idea that she might betray them and just let Twilight die was so unimaginable that nopony was expecting it when it happened. Silver Wing had reached them, Swift Wind had channeled magic into the gathering runes, and the teleport was nearly half way charged when the attack came. Celestia directed an attack towards Twilight. She never imagined that a small, contained magical explosion would do anything more than incapacitate the vampire that appeared to be their leader for the short time that it would take for her to heal. What happened in the few seconds that followed shocked her even more that every other event of the past day put together. Twilight was blown back by the force of Celestia's attack. Though she managed to use her wings and magic to right herself and come down gently, her cloak did not survive the experience. At some point, her hood had come off, and the rest of the cloak was tattered and in some places even a little burnt. Twilight didn't have her appearance disguised during the exchange, believing that the cloak would be enough to conceal herself. The explosion destroyed one of the gathering runes, delaying their departure by a few seconds. The attack acted a signal for the guards to attack, but Celestia could do nothing. She was frozen, her eyes locked with Twilight's. All she could pay attention to was Twilight. Her red eyes, her black wings, her sharp, deadly fangs. She was flooded with emotion for that brief moment. Betrayal, sadness, anger, even a deep love for the lavender filly that she watched grow up coursed through her, immobilizing her. Twilight could only stand there in fear, her mind desperately trying to make sense of what happened. Two of the guards entering rune brought her back to her senses however. Barely a second before the teleport, she shook herself back to reality and launched a concussive blast at each of the guards. They may have had a few broken bones afterward, but injuring them now was far better than needing to kill them later. A second later they teleported. Celestia's eyes never left Twilight until she was gone. And when she was, Celestia's eyes never left the spot where she was standing. Not until an explosion forced her to look away.