"Come here Luna!"
Celestia's wings flung open as she jumped after her sister, who was already frantically trying to get away. The sudden advance from both Celestia and Twilight had frightened her, and she had jumped into the sky, pillow in mouth, flying away. She did not wish to be the cause of separation among friends, and she didn't want to get hurt.
Before Twilight could react, both Celestia and Luna were well into the air, the chase had begun without her. Quickly surveying her resources, Twilight realized that there were still some ripped pillows lying upon the castle roof. Her horn glowed dully, her energy was weak.
The fragmented pillows quivered in their spots, slowly being lifted into the air and then meeting in front of Twilight. With terse breaths and a heaving chest, Twilight squeezed her eyes shut, and in a blast of light the pillows mended together, forming something new.
The ultimate pillow.
Trotting up to it, relieved that she was able to get through the spell, Twilight took the pillow and put it on her back. Using magic, she took the two flaps she had created on bottom of the pillow and tied them together underneath her stomach, and two other flaps to tie around her neck.
The pillow secured in place, Twilight stomped her hoof, signaling the wing mechanism. Two pillow wings shot out from the sides of the pillow on her back, locking into place with a resounding click. Twilight smiled, it worked. With two drags of her hoof on the dusty ground of the castle roof, Twilight readied herself for take off. The two princesses were off in the distance, their silhouettes barely visible through the haze. Twilight went through a silent countdown.
3...2...1...
"Lift off."
The pillow jet pack sprung into life, pillars of flame shooting out from the back and the wings. Twilight galloped as fast as her legs would take her, the jet pack accelerating her forward. As she approached the edge of the castle, there was nothing on her face but sheer confidence.
Her front hooves barely touched the edge of the castle, and her hind legs reared up. Like a spring, Twilight propelled forward, the pillow jet pack launched a ball of fire and smoke behind her, sending her skyward.
She was flying.
"Let the chase begin." Twilight smiled as she accelerated, the pillow-pack easily carrying Twilight's weight.
Her eyes squinted as the wind ripped past her face, tearing at her cheeks. Celestia and Luna were coming closer.
"I have to get this just right," muttered Twilight, the wind whipping away her words as she spoke. Using her body weight, she shifted her position in the air. The pillow was visible now, the corner grasped in between Luna's teeth.
Suddenly Twilight shook violently, almost losing control of the jetpack. She whipped her head back to look at the wings. One of them was creaking and smoking. The turbulence from the struggling wing caused Twilight to shake about.
"Come on!" screamed Twilight. Pulling her weight upwards, she was lifted higher into the sky, above the two princesses who rapidly came closer with each passing second.
"This has to be just right." Twilight stabilized her trajectory, nursing the injured wing and flying directly above the two princesses who continued their chase. The other wing started to smoke.
"Hang in there, just a few more seconds!" yelled Twilight. Celestia and Luna were completely visible now. Twilight's stare was focused on the pillow, however. Celestia and Luna noticed her, and attempted to pull away, flapping their wings as fast as they could. It was no use, Twilight's pillow-pack thrust her through the air with unprecedented speed.
"Ten more seconds." Twilight readied herself, counting down mentally. Luna and Celestia were directly in sight, and Twilight's gaze was locked on to the pillow.
10... 9... 8...-
There was a ripping sound. The push of the pillow-pack abruptly ended. Twilight swung her head back, only to see the wings of the pillow-pack tumbling down towards the ground, moving farther and farther away. Her momentum kept her flying forward, but she no longer could control her direction. She floated through the air, spinning slowly from the pillow-packs sudden destruction.
Struggling to gain control of herself, Twilight streamlined her body and did everything she could to keep from curving towards the ground. She needed this to be perfect. She was about to pass over Celestia and Luna.
All at once, Twilight flung her head down and shifted her weight to arc downwards. Her previous momentum and gravity brought her to an extreme speed, her snout pointed directly at the pillow. Like a bullet, Twilight shot towards the ground, Celestia and Luna almost under her, about to be just specs far away from Twilight.
It was over in less than a second. Twilight exploded by the two princesses, her mouth agape, and snatched the pillow from Luna's mouth. The precision was unrepeatable. Both of the princesses were stunned, but there was no time to float around in the air and watch as Twilight receded further and further away from them.
"Look what you have done!" screamed Celestia in fury.
"What we have done? Look what you have done! You have destroyed Canterlot over a simple pillow!" replied Luna.
"Over a pillow? I think you are underestimating the importance of this pillow, Luna. You can sleep on it."
Luna's eyes bulged open. "We want it," she said.
Celestia snorted and shut her wings and twirled into a perilous drop, allowing her to fall and gain momentum. Luna did the same.
Twilight looked behind herself, only to see the too princesses skydiving directly for her. Their larger bodies and heavier weight meant that they would be accelerating faster. Twilight began to sweat, adrenaline coursing through her body. The ground was approaching fast, there was no time to think about her actions, there was only time to act. Twilight could see a small cone form around her, and she felt as though her ears were being pushed down by a force stronger than she had ever experienced.
All three ponies blasted past the clouds, the vapor barely speckling their face before they were already hundreds of feet away. Behind their bodies was the large mountain Canterlot was built on, and the majestic waterfall that fell. The scenery flew by in a blur, brown and blue colors mixed. Twilight's eyes were barely open, allowing her to see close to nothing. Luckily, she was able to spot the terrain in the distance.
Swinging her body to the left, Twilight swerved out of her previous trajectory, aiming for a mountainous region nearby. Looking behind herself once more, she saw that Celestia and Luna had both followed her lead, their bodies streamlined and quick. With every second they inched closer, but Twilight had quite the lead.
It was only at this altitude that Twilight could truly see the destruction that they had left behind. Most of Canterlot had burned to the ground, smoke billowed from the castle, and all that was left of the buildings was rubble and dust. Farther away, she could barely see the smoke rising from Ponyville after the war that had occurred. She felt a pang of remorse, but it was too late to quit now. She had possession of the pillow, now all she had to do was keep it. As she rocketed toward the mountains, her horn was aglow, keeping the pillow from ripping out of her mouth and flying back towards the princesses.
After a minute or two of free fall, Twilight activated her pillow-pack's parachute function, ripping on the cord with all her might. The parachute sprung from the pillow, and Twilight felt a huge heave on straps that kept the pillow attached to her body. She felt as though her hooves would be torn off. After the initial blow had been suffered, the parachute caught the wind and pulled Twilight back. Now, she floated gently toward the mountains. Looking behind herself once more, she saw that the princesses had decided to do the same, using their wings to slow themselves down lest they hit the rocky mountains at a lethal speed.
As Twilight gently floated towards the ground, she noticed something moving in the mountains. A dragon. Inside Twilight's mind a new plan formed. Those are the wings I need.
Swinging her weight, Twilight changed her direction once more, and the princesses followed. As Twilight entered the atmosphere of the mountains, the temperature raised considerably. Lava.
The hot air hit Twilight's parachute, causing it to slow down even more. The princesses were catching up, their wings barely slowing them down a bit.
Twilight was unfazed by the heat, too intent on landing perfectly onto a dragon's back. She had a particular green dragon that was resting in the middle of a crater in mind. She continually had to adjust her direction due to the winds. Celestia and Luna, however, saw no sense in the path Twilight was taking.
Finally, after what seemed like forever, Twilight's fall came to an end. Her hooves touched down directly on the large dragon's back, the parachute draping over her. Her touch caused the dragon's huge eye to shoot open, its curved pupil moving from side to side. The dragon was awake.
Twilight tossed the parachute off of her head and looked into the sky. Sure enough, Luna and Celestia were on their way, almost there. The dragon's head lifted off of the bent legs that made its resting spot and craned backwards to look at Twilight. It looked angry.
With a sheepish smile, Twilight bargained with the dragon. "If you help me out here, I'll give you a lot of money."
The dragon was unmoved.
"A pillow?"
No reaction.
"Ten pillows?"
The dragon snorted.
"Okay, okay, fine, I'll give you, um, a belly rub?"
The dragon was not amused. He brought his snout close to Twilight, his hot breath blowing her mane back.
"Oh forget it, now isn't the time to bargain," said Twilight. With a flash of her horn, the dragon's became dazed, his eyes losing all emotion. Twilight had used a spell akin to the powers of what Fluttershy called "The Stare".
"Sorry, but I had to," said Twilight. The dragon was under her control now. Twilight smiled as she flexed the dragon's wings, spreading them to their full length. It was truly majestic. Saddling herself in the middle of two spines on the dragon's back, Twilight started to flap the wings. She had never felt a sensation such as amazing as being able to control wings. With powerful flaps, dust blew away from underneath the dragon as he slowly lifted into the air. Luna and Celestia watched wonder as Twilight flew away on the back of the dragon.
There was no time to lose. Luna and Celestia found their own dragons. Celestia chose a sleek, red dragon, whilst Luna chose a dark purple one. The princesses were well aware of the spell that Twilight had used, and knew it themselves.
Within seconds, both Luna and Celestia were chasing after Twilight on the backs of dragons. Twilight held her pillow close to her body, making sure to secure it from the wind.
As the dragons pulled away from the mountains, Twilight realized that she had no idea where to go. There was only one place to go. Back to Ponyville, where it had all begun. There were probably still pillows left on the ground that she could use to finish off her enemies and walk away victorious, pillow in mouth.
Twilight leaned forward on the dragon and flapped his wings faster. She was going to end this, once and for all.
As Ponyville came close, Twilight couldn't help but notice the large field in the distance that was covered in white feathers. The remnants of the fallen. Some of the pillow forts still stood, tattered by enemy fire. Most of them were obliterated by the tactical pillow that had gone off. Trees were covered in feathers, the fabric that made the pillows hanging off of their branches. It was a gruesome scene, yet all the pillows made Twilight sleepy. She hadn't slept in forever. Maybe she would just close her eyes for just a second...
Twilight eyes shot open, a roar from Celestia's dragon piercing her ears. She threw her head back to observe the spectacular sight, the dragon shooting flames into the air around it.
Behind Twilight, the dust of the collapsed buildings created a haze that hovered above the city. Some buildings gave off smoke, others simply lay still and forgotten.
Twilight pulled the dragon up higher into the atmosphere, gliding at an easy pace. The clouds whisked by, small wisps of vapor brushing Twilight's face every now and then. Behind her Luna and Celestia pushed their dragons to the limit, going as fast as possible to catch up to Twilight.
As Twilight looked down from her perch in the clouds, she saw the battlefield from above. In the field lay the bodies of the ponies who had been lost in the great pillow war. Who would have guessed a pillow fight would have ended so tragically?
Twilight saw her friends, motionless in the white speckled field. Ponyville looked... broken. The survivors stumbled through the debris, looking for their lost possessions and their friends. The fillies simply stood frozen in front of the buildings, looking at the broken glass and burning wood. Most buildings still stood, and very few had sustained heavy damage from the explosion.
"Let's do this," puffed Twilight into the thin atmosphere. Veering diagonally, Twilight's dragon began to fall to the earth. Luna and Celestia did not know what the pony was up to.
Twilight thought about the pillow that she held close to her. Was it really worth it? Was all this destruction necessary for just a simple pillow? Twilight felt pangs of guilt shoot up her spine.
Voices bounced around in her head, voices of those who she had fought with.
"I need backup!"
"We're not going to make it out!"
"Please, please Celestia I don't want to die."
"Ooo, this pillow is soft!"
"Pinkie Pie, stop feeling the pillow, throw it at somepony!"
"Ouch! Throw it at somepony besides me!"
"Okie-dokie!"
"I'm hit, I'm hit!"
"Save me!"
The voices haunted her, eating away at her soul. She couldn't oust them, they just kept playing, fragmented phrases of ponies who were probably lost in the pillow war. Twilight couldn't help but tear up.
Maybe giving Celestia the pillow, just to end it, was the right thing to do.
Twilight thought long and hard, her eyes flicking from the pillow to the wreck of a scene that Ponyville was.
"Nah."
The pillow was too awesome to give up. It was just the right mixture of soft and firm, making it the perfect pillow. And Twilight couldn't sleep without it. Her beauty sleep was valuable.
Twilight closed the wings of the dragon, allowing her to pick up speed. She closed her eyes as she fell. With the pillow held by a spell, Twilight's legs started to bend.
With shaky balance, Twilight pushed herself cautiously into a standing position on the speeding dragon. Her knees shook as she locked them into place, her mane whipping about in the wind.
"What is she doing?" said Celestia. Luna gave a simple shrug from her position on her dragon. Both the princesses closed the wings of their dragons, not wanting to let Twilight slip away.
Twilight, standing erect on the back of the dragon, felt her heart pounding. Although she could not see, she knew how fast she was going, and how fast the ground was approaching.
She felt the world around her.
"Now!" she yelled. The dragon's wings snapped open, catching the wind. Twilight's trajectory began to level out. She had timed it just right. With a crash, the dragon landed atop a building, claws dug deep into the walls for support. The dragon remained perched on the building as Celestia and Luna landed on their own buildings. The three ponies all stared at each other.
Nopony spoke for a long time, the town was silent except for the crackling of burning wood. All the fillies and survivors had taken refuge in the nearest house, too fearful of the dragons to make any noise.
Finally, Celestia spoke, breaking the silence.
"Twilight, this has gone on long enough. Relinquish the pillow, it is for you own good."
Twilight furrowed her brow. Celestia was right, this had gone on long enough. Time to end it.
"I think you underestimate me. You were once my princess, Celestia, but this is the battlefield, where there are no princes or princesses, only warriors, and if you think that you can take this pillow from me, you'll have to pry it from my cold, dead hooves."
"I'm sorry to see you feel that way, Twilight. However, prying it from dead hooves shouldn't be a challenge at all." Celestia smirked, this was a side of her Twilight had never seen.
"Yeah, well, you're dumb!" yelled Twilight. With a battle cry, Twilight's dragon lept into action. Celestia and Luna did the same, pushing off of the building they were hanging on. Ruthlessly, Twilight let loose an inferno from the dragon's mouth. But the blast was too late, Celestia and Luna were already in the sky, and the fireball simply burnt the building they had been on.
Twilight growled. Celestia's dragon fell from the sky, claws spread, headed directly for Twilight. Acting quickly, Twilight used her right wing to push herself to the side, barely dodging Celestia's claw. Controlling a dragon was harder than Twilight thought.
Reacting quickly, Twilight lashed out with her dragon's jaw, grabbing hold of Celestia's dragon. However, Twilight had forgotten about Luna, whose dragon fell behind Twilight's. With a whip of her dragon's tail, Twilight smacked Luna's dragon across the face, causing them to recoil. Meanwhile, Twilight used the dragon's powerful jaw to throw Celestia to the ground. Just before she could stomp on her, Luna's dragon came from behind, biting onto Twilight's dragon's tail. Twilight let out a cry. She didn't realize that the dragon's pain would be hers, too. Celestia, seeing an opportunity to escape, spread her dragon's wings and took off as fast as she could.
Twilight turned her dragon's head around and blasted another stream of fire at Luna, causing her to release her grasp on the tail and dodge the flame. Twilight spread her own wings and flew into the sky in hot pursuit of Celestia. Luna, not wanting to be left alone, followed after, yelling, "Wait up!"
As Twilight approached Celestia's dragon from behind, she devised a plan to separate the dragon from the pony, causing the connection made by the spell to be broken. With a powerful flap of the wings, Twilight shot below Celestia's dragon, invisible to Celestia's vision. Without warning, Twilight slammed her dragon's head into the stomach of the dragon above her. The dragon was thrown off course, and Twilight could hear Celestia scream. In a defensive measure, Celestia stopped flying straight and pulled upwards, flying straight for the clouds.
This ends now.
Twilight veered out from underneath Celestia's dragon and pulled up, following close behind. Celestia's dragon was clearly slower than Twilight's, and within seconds Twilight had caught up, Luna behind both of them. With immense force, Twilight bashed into Celestia's dragon's side. Celestia was shook once more, almost losing her balance.
With a final effort, Twilight pulled away and then back, hitting Celestia's dragon with all the force she could muster. Celestia lost her balance, her hooves separating from the skin of the dragon, falling backwards. In a desperate attempt, Celestia had her dragon flail its head out towards Twilight's, and with a powerful bite it grabbed one of Twilight's wings. Her flying patterned disturbed, Twilight lost control of her dragon, and with one wing clamped down by Celestia's dragon, their ascent stopped and they abruptly fell. Luna, noticing that Celestia, Twilight, and both their dragons were tumbling down towards earth, tried to turn around, but it was too late.
The dragons collided in the air, and all six of them tumbled toward the ground.
Twilight shook her head, still rattled from the impact. She looked around her and saw Celestia nearby, trying to get her wings open as they fell. Luna was doing the same, but in the entanglement caused by the three dragons, it was hard to do anything but fall. Celestia threw her weight to the side in an attempt to collide with Twilight. Seeing her from the corner of her eyes, Twilight turned and threw out all her hooves. The ponies' hooves collided, pushing on each other with equal force. Both of the ponies grunted as they tried to overtake the other one.
"This is all your fault!" yelled Celestia, "You couldn't have just let me have my pillow back!"
"You mean THIS pillow?" screamed Twilight. Her horn lit up and she swung the pillow as hard as she could at Celestia's face, a lethal blow.
Suddenly Twilight's eyes bulged. She didn't have the pillow. Frantically craning her neck to try and get a glimpse past the dragons, Twilight looked for the white pillow. Sure enough, it was falling to the ground along with the ponies and the dragons. There was no hope of salvaging it, and their was no way to break her fall.
Twilight looked at the ground that came closer with each second. It looked like this was the end.