//------------------------------// // Chapter 51 // Story: The Monster of Canterlot // by drnkntst //------------------------------// Chapter 51 I snuck out into the alleyway, despite the protests of several guards and my friends. I couldn’t stay in there anymore. I needed to know I needed to see. I needed to help. I needed to find my family and the mare I love. When I found nopony on the street, I took my opportunity and sprinted for the palace. I know flying was faster, but it was also far more conspicuous. Every block I ran past and every alley I went down was completely devoid of life, there weren’t even any stray cats in the garbage cans. The whole thing was nerve-racking. I hadn’t even seen Tirek yet and I was already terrified of him. Once I made it into the palace, I began a frantic search for anypony who might still be there, alicorn or not. I found no maids or chefs or even bookkeepers anywhere within the halls of the great marble homestead. It wasn’t until I looked out the window that I found somepony. “Shining!” I ran as fast as I could the nearest doorway to his location. I knelt down next to him and gently placed my hand on his shoulder. “Shining?” “Chris,” his voice was weak and his eyes milky, “what are you doing here? You need to go. Hide. He’ll kill you.” “I can’t just let this happen. My country needs me and I can’t help from some hidey-hole.” “You can’t help if you’re dead either. You’re going to just have to do what your mother does.” “Oh, and just what’s that?” “Trust in Twilight, Monkey. You trust in Twilight.” I smiled at that and was about to say something incredibly clever, but I saw something that would have made Pinkie go mute. It was the creature from my dream, only he was twice the size of Rainbow Dash’s cloud mansion. Though it wasn’t his size alone that was so scary, it was that smile too. He had a smile that oozed satisfaction. The kind of satisfaction that comes only from knowing you can’t lose, no matter what anyone does about it. “I don’t know if we can just leave this in her hooves alone. Where’s Mom and Aunt Luna?” The look on Shining’s face spoke volumes. “Celestia, Luna, and… and Cadance have been taken to Tartarus.” Out of respect for my cousin, I won’t say what happened after that. “I’m going down there. I don’t have my ring, so I can’t do much, but I can at least let citizens know that we haven’t abandoned them.” “I don’t believe that any more than you do. You’re going to try to find Fluttershy, aren’t you?” I hesitated for a second or two. “Yes… I am.” “I understand. I don’t like it, but I understand. Just, please, for all of us who care about you, be careful.” “I promise, I will be as careful as possible. I won’t even fly.” “Good. Celestia would never forgive me if you got hurt.” I carefully carried Shining into the shade of a nearby tree. Once I knew he was comfortable, I stood up and said, “I’ve talked to a guard in one of the safe houses. He told me that your parents were safe.” “Thank you, Chris, that helps more than you know.” ***** I was getting tired of all this running. The train wasn’t working, I promised I wouldn’t fly, and the chariot was well out of the realm of possibilities. For the first time in a few days, I was feeling a bit grateful to King Gurfon. He was the one who taught me the trick to running through the woods without getting snagged on roots or tripping over rocks. Still, I couldn’t run fast enough. Somewhere, a lot of somewhere, somepony I cared about was in trouble and I couldn’t get to them quick enough. Even if I could, there might still not be anything I could do. I could be by their side right now, and still may not be able to do anything to help. It didn’t matter though, I was going to do whatever I could do. When I finally reached the edge of the forest, I realized just how little I really could do. Tirek’s roars filled the air, and he was looking for Twilight. It wasn’t long before he found her. I watched, helpless to do anything, as he fired at the Golden Oaks Library, razing it to its roots. I was given only a moment’s assurance as I heard and saw Twilight safely make it out with Owlowiscious. I couldn’t believe my own eyes when Twilight launched into the air and took that monster head-on. The sheer force of the magic was… awesome in the truest sense of the word. Unfortunately for me, that meant that the air was saturated with the purest Equestrian magic Equus has ever seen, and my body was acting like a lightning rod. The first blast brought me back to the levels I was at during the Games. It was the ones that followed that proved to be too much. I collapsed to my knees after the third, unable to even move. By the fifth, I was clutching the sides of my head and screaming in pain. Number eight, and my body was riddled with muscle spasms and I couldn’t see straight anymore. At that point, I would have happily allowed Tirek to drain my magic. Suddenly, as quickly as the fighting had started, it seemed to stop. There was a minute or two of what quiet, before things got worse. Twilight’s feather changed to match the other four. Tirek himself seemed to double in size. “No,” I groaned. “This can’t be. Twilight never fails.” I tried to stand, but only collapsed as another muscle spasm hit me. I had to get rid of all this magic. Luckily, I had a nice easy target. I raised my arm and pushed the magic I could control into it. I focused, aimed and fired off the largest blast of magic I’d ever managed to pull off. I watched as the bolt of power seemed to go forever. For a moment, I thought I had missed. How do you miss a target the size of Canterlot Palace? I didn’t. I hit him. I hit him square in the left flank. I had made myself a pain in the ass for a good cause. I wonder if this is how Blueblood feels every time he pushes my buttons. Well, minus the sudden feeling of emptiness, that is. I had used a lot of magic. Tirek, however, seemed to barely even notice. He briefly stopped his assault on the Everfree to look over his shoulder at the town of Ponyville. If he ever spotted me, I’ll never know. There was a bright light coming from the forest. I was radiating all the colors of the rainbow and made me feel a warmth I haven’t known since I was a child, reading a book while laying against Celestia’s barrel as she laid in her bed and listened to me with a smile on her face. I could feel something else too. Two of the feathers around my neck were practically pulsing with energy. I lifted up the feathers from Twilight and Fluttershy and was astonished. They looked as if someone had taken some crayons to them. Twilight’s had a streak of pink and was two-tone purple at the tip. Fluttershy’s had become a filly’s dream, with a teal band that gave way to a pink gradient and a pink heart right in the middle. They were beautiful, to say the least. I watched as the light from before floated up in a sphere with the six Element Bearers inside. They were okay. They survived the fight with Tirek. Hope had risen within me again, but was dashed again as he fired another shot at my friends. I felt my world crumble. I had just watched my cousin, my fillyfriend, and my four other best friends get blown away. Without the princesses or the Elements, Equestria was doomed. Once the smoke cleared, I couldn’t believe what I saw. They were still there. Tirek’s overpowered attack had no effect on them. Even better than that, they were worrying him. He was worried for a good reason too. First one, then another, then six bands of color, one for each element, struck him in an arch before they all straightened out into a single rainbow. His screams of torment were music to my ears. I was ready to start cheering out loud as I watched the monster shrink back down and get banished back into Tartarus. In fact, I did cheer. Everypony in Ponyville did. They roared with excitement as the six victors streaked through the sky, leaving behind a brilliant rainbow and energized ponies. All over Equestria, magic was being restored to its proper wielder. Even the last three feathers around my neck resumed their brilliance and I was feeling like my old self again. I pulled myself back up onto my feet and brushed myself off. I nearly fell down again when the ground started to shake again. I searched for the source and was astonished to see a castle rise from the dirt at the edge of Ponyville. It was a gorgeous thing to behold. Made of crystal and resembling a treehouse, topped with a huge star acting as a beacon to all who looked upon it. This day was tiring me out with all the awesome sights, both good and bad. Hopefully, it would be over soon and I would either return to the Griffin Kingdom to confront my unc… King Gurfon about the events of yesterday and his lies, or I would be spending as much time as physically possible with Fluttershy. I began my jog across the open field on my way to the castle, that’s where Fluttershy would be. Everypony else would be there too, of course, but the only one on my mind was the color of a sunflower with eyes like a deep sea. Perhaps, I might even find Celestia. I reached the castle and threw open the doors. I could hear voices coming from the end of a large hallway and proceeded toward them. My pace hastened when I heard a voice I was starting to think I might never hear again. “Wait a minute. Where’s my throne?” My vision started to change its hue again. Why was that traitor still here? “I don’t think you’re quite there yet.” And just like that, I was calmed and, if not at peace, then certainly collected. “Heheh hoo, I suppose not.” “Discord! You traitor!” I accused as I stormed through the doorway to, what appeared to be, a council chamber. “Christopher, what are you doing here?” Celestia stepped forward to embrace me, but I had other things on my mind. “What is he doing here? He put everypony in danger to serve just so he could have a little more fun. We should turn him back into a statue and then smash it to pieces.” “Cease this, Nephew. If Discord is to be punished, that decision will be made when heads have cooled. For now, embrace your mother and celebrate with your friends for all is well again.” “Fine, but I will never trust him again.” “We’ll talk about it all later, now come here,” Celestia instructed me as she spread her wings wide. I stepped forth and wrapped my arms around her neck and she wrapped a foreleg and her wings around me. “I was so scared I might never see you again.” “And I thought you’d be safe with your uncle.” I released my hands and tried to step back, but Celestia held me in place for a moment longer before letting go. “We will discuss that later. ‘Til then, I’m going to be with my fillyfriend.” Celestia looked at me with hurt in her eyes. I wasn’t pleased by her pain, but I wasn’t overly concerned about it either. I hugged Luna and Cadance, and made my way over the others. I scratched Pinkie behind the ears and stroked Twilight’s mane a little. Then, I picked Fluttershy up and held her tight against my chest. The warmth of her fur and the smell of her mane made me happy for the first time in nearly a week. “I’ve missed you so much,” I whispered into her ear. “Shh… it’s okay now. I’m here.” ***** “Why am I being held prisoner again?” I demanded from inside my room back in Canterlot. I had been all but literally dragged back to the palace by Celestia and the other princesses. Once within the walls, it had become literal. “You are being ‘held prisoner’ because you’re supposed to be a prisoner of King Gurfon. You are supposed to be there so that you were not in danger here.” “And family is not supposed to keep secrets from each other!” My patients had run out and my statement had been a verbal slap to her face. “You and everypony else in Equestria were in danger and I find out because of a slip of the tongue from Princess Filia. I had to blow a hole in the wall of Gurfon’s castle and fly all day and night to make it back to Equestria. When I got here, nopony knew what had happened to you. I was so scared.” “I was scared too. Sister, Cadance and I were all chained up and powerless and the only thing that helped my get through it was knowing that you were safe from harm.” “And if you had told me what was going on, I could have done something.” “That’s precisely why I didn’t tell you anything. If Tirek had gotten ahold and drained your magic, you would have died.” “He might have killed you too. He could have killed anyone. The only reason he didn’t was because Twilight managed to pull off another miracle.” I felt tired and sat on the edge of my bed. “I got to see just what he did to our ponies. The first city I came to was Cloudsdale. All the pegasi had to set up a camp in a field because they couldn’t get home. When I made it here to Canterlot, the city looked deserted. Once proud and powerful unicorns were all huddled together in bunkers, jumping at every noise from outside. I even had to witness the bravest stallion I’ve ever known break down over the uncertainty of his wife’s condition.” I buried my face in my hands. “I saw all of this, and all I could think about was how powerless I really am and how much I wanted to see my mother and my fillyfriend just once more. But I put on a brave face and pretended everything was in control so that our subjects could face another day with hope.” Celestia sat on the bed next to me and I had to fight to keep from pulling away from her. “These past few days have been some of the most treacherous in memory, and I have a lo-ong memory.” I couldn’t help but smirk a little at that. “I never wanted you, or anypony for that matter, to have to suffer. No mother or ruler does, and if they do, they don’t keep their title for long.” “I understand that, but it still doesn’t changed the fact that you kept secrets from me again. You and Gurfon both.” Celestia opened her mouth to say something, but I cut her off. “I know, you did it to keep me safe. We keep going through the same argument. I don’t want to talk about this anymore.” “Very well.” Celestia stood to leave. “You should get some rest, King Gurfon will be arriving in the morning to discuss what to do about recent events.” “Oh good, you and the wise king can lock me away again.” “Why are you so angry with me for wanting to protect you?” “I… I don’t… I’m just mad… far too often. I don’t like it. I don’t like what I did to Gilda. I don’t like what I did to Gurfon. I don’t like that I was kept in the dark. And I don’t like being mad at you. All I want is for things to be like they were, when I had no magic and we were all happier. Celestia looked at me for a moment as she took in what I had just told her. Finally, she took a couple steps forward, so that she was standing right before me. “I am happy. I am happy that you are here with me. I am happy that my sister is home and has made some friends. I am happy that you feel that you can share your burdens with me.” I looked up into her eyes. “I am happy, because that means we are family.” I couldn’t hold myself back anymore. I wrapped my arms around her neck and hugged her tight. “I’m sorry I’m being a jerk.” “I know you are, Sweetie. I’m sorry you’re being a jerk too.” And for the first time in far too long, I shared a good laugh with my mother.