Rain without Rainbows

by Leoshi

Five: Assault

!Disclaimer!: Do I own the rights to the show? Nope. Would I like to? Yep. Will I ever? Probably not. Can I still write stories based on the show? You bet your flank I can.

Welcome back to this tale of struggle and mystery. You’re most likely here after speeding through chapter four, so you already know that a period of four years have passed since the tragedy at the tryouts with Rainbow Dash and the Wonderbolts. You also saw a mysterious stallion on the edge of the Everfree Forest, gazing toward Ponyville with dark intents.

In which case, this chapter will be easy to jump in to. You’ll witness the beginning of a series of events which will forever change the face of Equestria. And that beginning starts with a loose segment of power. Without further mumbo-jumbo, let’s get galloping!

ACT I- The Paragons
Chapter five: Assault

Fluttershy, as was routine, was spending her morning by tending to the animals she kept in and around her cottage. She gave each group special attention, bringing food to every ferret, rabbit, bird, and squirrel she sheltered. Even her pet Angel, growing in years, had accepted to eat breakfast wholly. It had taken years of patient prodding for Fluttershy to win him over, and she was none too relieved when he had finally come around.

However, this morning, something seemed amiss. The more she worked on bringing her animal friends their food, the more the animals themselves seemed to grow restless. A family of birds in the trees accepted their meal of worms, but immediately looked beyond the yellow pegasus. It was as though they were watching the distance, waiting for something to happen.

Their unease didn’t go unnoticed. By the time she had brought Angel his carrot, he was sitting outside, simply staring down the path that led to the Everfree Forest. She shifted her gaze, bending her head low to speak.

“Angel?” she asked lightly. “What is it?”

The rabbit didn’t make any attempt to respond. He simply sat, staring.

Finally, Fluttershy took stock of what was changing. Only minutes before, when she had gathered the food for her animal companions, the air was rich with their chatter and song. Now silence had befallen them, and the only animals that were not hiding were Fluttershy and her pet.

Angel tapped on the hoof of his owner, drawing her attention. He stood up and began to walk backwards, never taking his eyes off of the path. His fur was standing on end, and he wasn’t blinking. She noticed his lip was beginning to curl.

She turned her eyes back to the path leading towards Everfree. A lead weight had fallen in her stomach – the drastic change in atmosphere was unsettling. “Is there something out there?”

As though to answer her question, a deep, resounding growl was heard. Fluttershy thought it came from her pet rabbit for a moment, but a quick glance told her differently. Angel was still moving backwards, unblinking, not making a sound. She looked up toward the trees, where flocks of birds were abandoning their roosts. Clearly they could not have made the growl. A pair of ferrets skirted by her, shortly followed by a group of rabbits. All of them were fleeing, running away from the path. None of them could have produced the sound.

Now frightened, the pegasus spread her wings and began walking away, prepared to fly if she had to. Like Angel, she glared down the path, half-expecting a dragon to come flying down toward her, spewing fire and destruction.

Another growl was heard, deeper and louder than the last. The presence it held caused every nerve in Fluttershy to shudder, and she fought every instinct to run – an instinct her animal neighbors were following with abandon. She ground her teeth, pausing for a moment.

She didn’t notice a pale, blue-black glow snaking its’ way along the side of the path. It veered and ran beneath her hooves.
A sudden flash of discomfort came over the pegasus, and an image of Ponyville appeared in her mind. She saw the town in all its’ splendor – stone roads, thatched roofs, street-side carts, and everything in-between. But one marring detail made her gasp. In the vision, there wasn’t a single pony in sight.

Eyes wide, Fluttershy turned her head to face the other way, toward her home of Ponyville. A sudden dread had overcome her, affecting her thoughts. No longer was her instinct telling her to run away; rather, it was telling her to warn her loved ones against something she didn’t yet know.

She waited only one moment before taking off.

The glowing segment of power moved forward with a purpose, slowing only to run beneath the hooves of other ponies as it had done with Kindness moments before. Each time, the contact made with them allowed it a brief moment to invade their minds. In each, it painted a picture of where it wanted them to be: Ponyville. Their haven of peace and courtesy, which – if all went well – would soon meet with panic and chaos.

The image of their home created a sense of yearning, and every single pony encountered suddenly began running or took flight toward the town. None of them knew exactly what was causing them their desire to return home. All they knew was that they needed to return, and nothing more.

Once it reached the edge of the tranquil town, it halted and waited. There, just beyond a pair of shops, stood Generosity and a young, violet dragonling. Both were asking aloud why a sudden group of ponies had come running into town in a frenetic haste.

Rarity, the bearer of Generosity, barely avoided being plowed over by another pair of young equines entering the town. A small cloud of dirt rose and stuck to her mane, causing her to take an involuntary step backward. She groaned. “Oh, yuck. I just had this styled...”

“Rarity, what’s going on?” Spike asked, standing next to her to avoid being trampled. “Is something wrong?”

“I should say so!” she replied, still gawking at the lines of dust marring her hair. “These ponies really must learn to step carefully around a lady!”

“That’s not what I meant,” the dragon deadpanned, walking down the path where the miniature stampede had just arrived from. “What I mean is, why was everypony running in to town? None of them even stopped to say hello.”

Rarity turned away from the path, calling on her magic to lift the filth away from her mane. Her horn began to ripple with waves of magic, soon spreading to engulf her hair. The waves pulled away, bringing with them a small pile of dirt and dust. The unicorn’s mane was instantly restored to its’ styled luster, and she carefully spread the pile along the side of the road to avoid it being kicked up again.

“Well, I imagine they lost track of time, and are running late for a certain engagement. I’m certain they all will-”

Rarity was cut off by another, larger cloud of dirt blowing on top of her, this time ruining her coat and tail. She coughed and sputtered, spitting to clear the dirt away from her tongue (she made sure to turn her head away so Spike wouldn’t see the unladylike action).  Once she could no longer taste the grains, she began to fume. “Oh, come now! What is the meaning of this?”

“Rarity, Spike! Thank goodness I found you two - are you both okay?”

The white unicorn turned her head back, her anger dissolving when she saw Fluttershy. Instantly, Rarity understood: Fluttershy had made a quick landing, and raised the cloud of dust by using her wings. What’s more, she hadn’t drawn in her wings yet, and even looked ready to leap up and take flight again at a moment’s notice. There was a tinge of panic and worry behind her eyes.

“Fluttershy?” Spike began, taken by surprise. “We’re okay, yeah. Why, what’s wrong?”

“Yes, dear, you seem to be quite rushed. Whatever is the matter?” Rarity chimed in, using her magic to siphon the dirt from her coat and tail as she had done with her mane. “Do you have some form of engagement as well?”

“What? No, no, listen, we should get inside Ponyville as quickly as we can.”

For the second time in as many minutes, Spike deadpanned. “We’re sort of already in Ponyville, Fluttershy-”

“There’s no time for jokes!”

Spike blinked. ‘Did Fluttershy just interrupt me? She’s never done that...’

“Fluttershy?” Rarity began, stepping forward. “What’s wrong?”

Before the pegasus could answer, a familiar sound was heard - the same resounding growl that she heard twice before near her cottage. The noise caused the dragon and both ponies to snap their heads around, facing the path that lead away from Ponyville.

As the growl’s sound died away, Fluttershy whimpered. “That’s what’s wrong.”

Rarity looked at her friend, forgetting any concerns over dirt and grime. Feeling cautious, the unicorn began to step forward down the path. Her horn began to glow, waves of power just beginning to form.

At the presence of the unicorn’s magic, the shadow, which had been biding its’ time, leapt up from the ground, a blue-black orb forming as it gathered itself. The creatures before it screamed in shock at the sudden appearance. The shadow continued to shift, pulsing with energy.

Rarity’s breath caught in her throat. Several things about the dark projection struck her as odd. The pulsing, the dancing patterns, the glow of electric blue - she had seen this before, four years ago.

“Rarity...” Fluttershy began, trying to hide behind her mane.

“I know,” she replied. Without thinking, Rarity fed more power into her horn - and saw the dark mass increase in size in response. She grimaced. “Spike!”

The young dragonling jumped at the noise. He had been transfixed by the sight of the orb. “Wh-what?”
“Run and get Twilight. Hurry!”

“But-”

“Go!” she shouted. “Now!”

Spike gazed at his two friends, spared one look at the bulbous mass, and took off at a run. “Twiiiilight!” he called, though he knew she couldn’t hear him.

As the sound of his footsteps died away, Rarity spoke out the side of her mouth. “You should go too, Fluttershy.”

The pegasus opened her mouth to argue, but the mass before them buzzed violently. A sound came out, vibrating like a disfigured music box.

“I’m not going to leave you here.”

Fluttershy gasped, staring in disbelief. “That’s wh-”

“That’s what I was going to say!”

She took a step back, mortified. ‘How does it know what I’m about to say?’

The mass shook harder, like it were suppressing laughter. It wasted no time revealing her thoughts. “How does it know what I’m about to say?”

Fluttershy screamed, and the orb immediately echoed the scream. Rarity stepped forward again. “What are you?” she demanded, her voice overtaking the cry of her friend behind her.

In response, the orb shot out a thin line of power, the thickness of a strand of hair, wrapping it around Rarity’s horn. The action was so sudden, she didn’t have time to pull away, and by the time she jerked her head and broke off her magic, the strand had been recalled into the mass. It grew larger, and spoke again.

“What are you?”

The unicorn glared, baring her teeth. “I will not be-”

“I will not be mocked! Answer me!”

Rarity, losing herself to anger, called upon her magic again. She focused on the center of the mass, narrowed her eyes, and loosed off a lance of her own power. It hummed for a moment as it flew through the air, closing the gap between the pony and the orb in half a second. The magic contacted the dark mass, sinking into it. The orb was pushed backward by the attack, and its’ vibrations halted as it shrank a little. The glow it gave off dulled bit by bit, and the thin white patterns that danced across it vanished.

The unicorn allowed herself a satisfied grin. She angled her head down, never taking her eyes off of the orb. “Fluttershy,” she began, “please go somewhere safe. I don’t want you getting hurt in case-”

“-in case things go wrong.”

With a flash of light, the orb recovered - glowing brighter, patterns dancing faster, size growing to larger than it had been before. It rippled, gathering power, the patterns forming two small circles on the surface of the orb. The circles flashed once more, blinding the two ponies in front of it. Both friends closed their eyes against the harsh light.

Suddenly, it seemed like two cannons had been fired, one on each side of the unicorn and pegasus. Two resonating bangs blasted their ears, and the sounds of crashing bricks filled the air around them.

Rarity opened her eyes, gasped, and tasted dust. She blinked in shock, taking in the scene in front of her. The closest walls of both shops had been blown away, littering the road with their regurgitated bricks and mortar. A cloud of obliterated brick dust floated down and coated the road with an assortment of reds and browns. Gaping holes were left where the walls once were, giving a clear view to the inside of each store - the clerks inside were devastated at the destruction, both at a loss for words.

The orb withdrew its’ two dark tendrils of power, the arms that had brought about the collapse of the walls. It vibrated, again as though barely containing laughter.

Rarity took two steps back, feeling fear eat at her instincts. The dancing patterns had begun to form two circles again, this time facing forward, aiming at the unicorn and the pegasus before it.

“And then out of nowhere, this giant black ball just appeared from the ground! Rarity told me to run and get you, but she wouldn’t say why!”

Spike had found his caretaker, Twilight Sparkle, in the library as usual. After hearing that her friends were “in an emergency”, she wasted no time in placing him on her back and running toward the road that Spike directed her to. He had been telling the story, however short it was, along the way.

As they rounded a fountain, they heard the sound of twin explosions, soon followed by what seemed to be a cascade of stones. Fearing the worst, Twilight pushed herself harder, desperate to reach the shop’s side in time.

“There’s Fluttershy!” Twilight declared, noticing a small tuft of pink tail peeking around the corner of the shop. She called out. “Fluttershy! Rarity! Please be okay!”

Twilight slid the final few feet, whipping her body around to face the road. In a split second, her eyes drank in the scene. Piles of fallen bricks had blocked the road, and her two friends were facing a glowing black orb that was floating a foot above the ground. The orb itself was gathering power, and Twilight noticed two circular patterns facing forward. The violet unicorn ground her teeth and jumped.

The dark mass flashed once more, firing another two bolts of power at the ponies in front of it. The attacks sped forward, inches away from their targets, when a sudden white field of magic shot forth to intercept the black bolts. The attacks fizzled, pushed against the radiant field, then winked out of existence. The field continued to move forward, contacting the glowing orb and pushing it back. The dark mass shook harder than ever, but not as though to hold in laughter; now it struggled against the white projection, determined to outlast it.

Rarity and Fluttershy blinked, surprised, before turning their heads inward. There stood Twilight, head down, eyes narrow, her horn glowing a pure white as it fed the field that has saved them from the bolts. “Twilight!” they exclaimed in unison, both happy and shocked to see her. She grunted, focusing too hard to reply.

The glowing orb gathered itself once again, releasing a flash of blue-black energy of its’ own. It crawled along the surface of the white field, disabling it. Gaping holes in the field grew as the energy was cancelled entirely. After a moment, when Twilight realized she was pouring power into nothing, she released the spell and resorted to glaring at the orb, wary of any counterattack.

“Spike,” she ordered, stepping between her two friends. “Send an emergency letter to the Princess. Tell her what’s happening, and that we need any help she can spare as soon as possible.”

“Twilight-” Rarity began, but her friend waved her off.

“I know,” she murmured, much in the same way as Rarity had spoken to Fluttershy moments before.

Spike spared one last look toward his friend and caretaker, silently wishing her luck. He ran into the nearby stationary shop (still torn open by the orb’s attack), frantically hunting for a scroll and a very certain ribbon.

A thin trail of smoke wafted down before the eyes of one very regal alicorn, who was busying herself with a small set of books her sister had brought upon request. Princess Celestia watched the smoke as it circled before her, turning faster and taking on a green hue. It was a sight she was all too familiar with - her prized student would often send scrolls to her in this manner.

The sun princess calmly marked her place in the spellbook she had been reading, and turned her own magic to envelop the scroll that had been formed from the smoke. She smiled, wondering inwardly what Twilight Sparkle would wish to relay so early in the afternoon. With a flash, the scroll materialized and settled into the cocoon of magic the princess had woven. As she gazed at the scroll, her smile froze and her eyes narrowed.

Normally, messages sent to her were wrapped in a red ribbon, signifying a standard message. This scroll had a line of black tying it together. A black ribbon could only mean an emergency had happened.

Without waiting a single moment, she pulled the ribbon loose and unfurled the scroll. She held her breath as she read the hastily scrawled message. The message was short and concise, yet she felt a chill as she reached the end.

Nearby, the moon regent Luna was looking on. She had noticed the smoke as well, but was too far away to read the message it contained. However, the silence of her sister had caught her attention. She called out. “Sister? Is something wrong?”

But Celestia wasn’t listening. She had placed the scroll haphazardly on the table she had been reading on, and stepped away in a hurry. Celestia moved to a nearby doorway, opened it with a small nudge of magic, and issued a quick order to the guard standing outside.

“Rally the unicorn guard and have them deploy immediately to Ponyville. And call my personal chariot, and have it harnessed to the fastest pegasi we have.”

Her words echoed in the room, causing Luna’s ears to perk up. She rose from her spot on the table, now anxious to see what was causing her sister such worry. Eyeing the scroll that had just arrived, she trotted around the reading table and grasped it with her own magic. She held it in front of her, reading each word. Unlike her sister, Luna’s breathing quickened rather than becoming still.

“Luna...”

The moon princess looked up. Celestia had walked to her side, eyes full of determination and something resembling worry. Luna met her gaze with the same feeling.

“A dark energy is attacking Ponyville? One that strikes with black lightning?”

Celestia nodded. “Just as you conjectured.”

Luna didn’t hesitate. She dropped the scroll, rushing to a nearby balcony. She turned her head in the warm afternoon air, gazing in the direction of Ponyville. Though the town was far away from the capitol of Canterlot, Luna closed her eyes and probed the surrounding energies, searching for anything that was out of place. Her blue horn was completely hidden beneath the corona of magic she raised.

She felt it. There. Just on the edge of the small town, there was a presence. Active, snide, yet fearful. Luna sensed power radiating from the presence, but nothing more - she would have to get closer to understand what it was. If, in fact, it could be understood at all.

Luna opened her eyes, gazing down to the castle courtyard. Pairs of unicorn guards were piling into chariots, which were taking off with a struggle. Nopony had expected the order to deploy, and certainly didn’t understand the severity of it, so the urgency the pegasus fliers were showing wasn’t nearly enough.

Lune turned her head, fixing her gaze with her sister’s. “I’m going.”

Celestia had been expecting this. She stepped forward. “Luna, wait-”

“There’s something attacking Ponyville, and the guards are not going to be able to reach it quickly. I can get there on my own,” Luna assured, spreading her wings to their full span. “You should follow and direct the guard.”

The tone in her sister’s voice gave Celestia pause. She gazed at Luna, noting the way she stood like a sentinel. She sighed - as much as she didn’t like it, she had to agree. “Very well. Hurry.”

The moon princess flashed a wry grin, something she only let her sister enjoy. “Relax, we both know I’ve handled worse.”

Celestia watched her fly. While Luna was certainly not as powerful as she, and her experience as Nightmare Moon had left her even weaker, her flying speed was always amazing. A talent as an alicorn that Celestia didn’t have the luxury of sharing - as ruler, she had to remain seen and heard. So it was up to Luna to arrive in Ponyville first and render aid.

Celestia only hoped it would be soon enough.

The magic of Twilight and Rarity was not enough. The dark orb had continued to attack relentlessly, forcing them into the streets of their town. All around them, mares and stallions had begun fleeing for cover as the orb fired off lesser bolts of energy. Several street-side carts, two house windows, and one light post had been hit already, all of which were heavily damaged. Fluttershy had grabbed Spike and flew off for shelter, calling out warnings as she went.

The two unicorns continued to fight against the orb, but they knew it was not going to work for long. For every new spell Twilight cast on it, it would only pause for a moment before redoubling its offensive - and each time, it would grow a little larger. Rarity threw her ladylike constitution to the wind, shouting out her frustrations.

“This is just ludicrous! It’s almost like this thing is absorbing our spells!”

“That’s not possible!” Twilight called back, spreading a thick wave of magic in front of them. The glowing mass was forced to stop, the patterns vanishing as the wave passed over it. “Magic can’t be taken away once it’s cast! It’s one of the basic fundamentals of telekinesis!”

“Then how do you explain that?” Rarity shouted. The dark orb has begun to move again, the patterns on its surface dancing frantically. Once again, the entire mass had grown a little larger.

“I don’t know! Just- ahh!”

The orb lunged forward several feet, stopping just short of Twilight. She fell over in surprise, landing with a grunt. The second her concentration was broken was all the mass needed – it spread a field of dark energy around her, capturing her in an electric-blue hold. She cried out in shock, only to have the sound muffled. Her horn flared desperately, but the dark field snuffed out the energy before it amounted to anything.

“Twilight!” Rarity cried, rushing forward with her horn aglow. She poured her mounting anger into her magic, shaping it into an azure streak. It shot forward, aiming for the center of the dark mass.

The orb shifted and fired off a similar streak of power that met Rarity’s own, never once breaking the dark cocoon that held Twilight prisoner. Both lances stopped cold, their matched power cackling and sending ethereal sparks flying. The white unicorn was forced to stop, empowering her magic further in an attempt to gain ground. She closed her eyes and grimaced – her energy was almost drained, and she would likely collapse from the strain very soon.

Twilight’s eyes widened as the orb shifted once more. The dark field that held her against the ground began to flicker with thin white lines, first just a few, then dozens, each one dancing faster that the last. The lines nicked at her coat, her mane, her horn, every part of her. With each contact, a brief but sharp pain lanced through her, accompanied by a growing sense of dread. Twilight began to hyperventilate. She was scared now. Honestly scared.

The dancing lines burst. Flashes of color began to flicker before her eyes, far too quickly for her to register them. Blues, greens, whites, yellows, blacks, reds…they all swirled toward the center of her vision before taking shape. She saw the waving of several manes, the synchronized beating of a set of wings, the darkness of a harmless line of dark clouds, and the radiance of an unfettered sun. Twilight focused, and saw that the owners of the beating wings were in simple flight suit uniforms, save one who was gifted with a mane and tail of many colors.

She gasped, momentarily forgetting to struggle. Hadn’t she seen this before?

The colors shifted, dancing in a whirlwind of thought, until at last they took shape again. The uniformed fliers from before had been attacked. Four of those pegasi had been captured in similar fields that held Twilight still. The two farthest were knocked away, too far out of reach to capture. The four pegasi who had been caught struggled violently against the magical grip, but only for a few brief seconds before they jolted, opened their mouths in what would pass for a scream, and became still.

Once more, the colors shifted, this time taking form in a rain-soaked memorial service held in Canterlot. Four adorned gravestones stood out like a pox against healthy grass, each one engraved with the bolt-and-wings emblem of the Wonderbolts. Each one built solid and made to withstand the elements. Each one fresh and new and utterly horrifying.

A cold feeling of finality settled into Twilight’s stomach. She knew exactly where she had seen this dark orb before. She knew exactly what it was doing to her. And she knew exactly what would happen.

She shut her eyes against the colors as they shifted again. Her magic moved unhindered, desperately flaring, no longer trying to fight, only to flee. As her inner reserves were spent, she knew, simply knew, there was no escape. The glowing cocoon had cut off her supply of air, and the magic cast upon her was drilling into her mind, shutting her down quickly and effectively.

Twilight knew what would happen. Soon, she would grow weak, far too weak to struggle. Her mind would lapse into blackness, and then all of her defenses would fade away. Ultimately, her death would be painless, because she would be unconscious before she departed. But the moments leading up to that unconsciousness were to be excruciating.

A surge from the lines forced her head against the ground, and she lacked the strength – or will – to lift it again. Her horn flares grew weak and sporadic, amounting to little more than residual sparks which were quickly lost to the field. A heavy presence fell upon her eyes, and she suddenly wanted to rest. Her head was swimming and her senses began to fail. She even heard telltale clattering and a dull droning, felt a shifting of pressure along her midriff, tasted a cool rush of air...

Twilight’s eyes flickered open, a last ounce of curiosity feeding the action. Bright sunlight bathed her body, and fresh air filled her lungs, strengthening her body with every breath. The feelings of pain were quickly dimming as Twilight blinked again and again, trying to discern what had happened. Her vision sharpened alongside a booming voice in front of her.

“YOU SHALL DO NO HARM TO ANYPONY ELSE!”

Surprisingly, Twilight had one last ounce of shock to help her lift her head and focus. “I know that voice…”

Rarity, having retained just enough strength to stay upright, trotted to her friend’s side, bending low to help her stand. Once on all fours again, Twilight watched in stunned awe as a familiar blue-coated alicorn took charge.

Princess Luna’s eyes glowed with a brilliant white, filled with power and intense focus. Her horn was a solid spike of power which fed a wide, lustrous blue corona of magic. Beneath the magic, barely seen beneath the darkened hue, was the assaulting orb. It was struggling against the sudden onslaught, failing miserably beneath the years of experience and technique the moon regent wielded.

Twilight and Rarity stood transfixed, both wanting to say something, neither sure of what to say. The princess made no sound, but her very aura was deafening. Twilight has only seen power like this once, during the Summer Sun Celebration in Canterlot – but that had been Celestia’s power. She had never seen Luna use this much before; she had never had the opportunity.

The two unicorns began to step forward, and Twilight opened her mouth to speak. But no words issued forth, because at that moment, many things happened at once.

The first was a series of chariots began landing in Ponyville’s town square, each one unloading teams of various royal guards. The earth guards immediately went about setting up a perimeter and assisting ponies who were dumbstruck. The pegasi who pulled the chariots unhitched themselves and began surveying the town. The unicorns, however, lined near Luna, feeding their own magical energy into the projection she was using to keep the orb down.

Second, a sullen growl began to sound, seemingly from everywhere. The growl wasn’t loud, but it reverberated off of shops, carts, and the roads. The ponies nearest the suppressed orb felt a sudden rush of apprehension. Twilight and Rarity both involuntarily winced at the presence the growl held, like it were some physical piece of revulsion.

Third, a bright glow began to shine from beneath Luna’s shield magic. The light flashed with desperate bolts of black lightning as the orb radiated power, but no bolt managed to break through the princess’ field.

Finally, and doubtless the most sudden, Princess Celestia had appeared at Twilight’s side. The student didn’t notice her teacher at first, so transfixed was she at the display of power Luna was showing. It wasn’t until Celestia draped a wing over the purple unicorn that the latter took notice. She turned her head around to face her mentor, and gave a small gasp. “Princess!”

Celestia leaned down, not saying a word. Twilight instantly grew anxious in spite of her relief at the aid she and her friends had received from Canterlot. Something in her teacher’s eyes made Twilight want to slink away. Celestia’s gaze was fierce, as fierce as it had been when she had questioned the unicorn four years prior. It was a gaze that shot through Twilight’s mind, probing her for anything that might be hidden. Her horn glowed a brilliant gold as she bore deeper and deeper, searching for anything that shouldn’t be there.

“Princess…please…” Twilight pleaded.

Celestia blinked. She withdrew her magic, lifted her head a bit, and took a long hard look at her student. In her haste to search her student’s consciousness, she hadn’t bothered to take stock of Twilight’s condition. Her mane was a tangled mess, her head was slick with sweat, her legs were barely holding her weight, and there were shadows under her eyes. Even her head was lowered due to her fatigue.

The sun regent nodded grimly. Now wasn’t the time.

“Princess Celestia, what are-” Twilight began, but she was cut off as Celestia turned and took a few steps toward her sister. She followed her mentor with her eyes, both relieved and scared at all that was happening.

“Luna,” Celestia spoke in a tone of finality. “Stop your spell.”

Twilight and Rarity stood sunned for a moment, both feeling certain that the princess has misspoken. But when Luna released her magic and her eyes returned to normal, they both began to protest.

“Wait, Princess!”

“What are you doing?”

“That thing will just come back at me!”

“It’s too dangerous to let go!”

“We shouldn’t just release it!”

“It will surely continue to attack!”

Celestia held up one hoof for silence, which both unicorns obeyed. “Don’t misunderstand, young ones – I have no intention of letting this dark magic roam free.”

Twilight blinked, turning her head to look at the orb. ‘Dark magic…?’

The group of Canterlot unicorn guards were keeping it still with their own magic, and were doing so with little struggle. The orb itself was glowing and flashing still, the bolts firing off and disappearing against the solid blanket of magic that held it down. Dancing lines began to eat at the magic, tearing small holes in the field – the guards quickly added more power to compensate.

“What is it doing?” she asked, a little anxious of what the answer would be.

“It’s absorbing some of the magic that’s holding it down,” Luna explained, walking forward. She spoke with a sharp determination, the sharpness of fact. “We have to stay just one step above its’ own power in order to keep it down and controlled.”

Both unicorns gawked. “A-absorbing?” Twilight started. “Bu-but that’s not possible! One of the fundamental laws of telekinesis magic says-“

“This isn’t telekinesis, Twilight Sparkle.”

The tone Luna held instantly silenced Twilight’s argument. The lavender unicorn looked from one princess to the next, her expression one of defeat and confusion. “What’s going on?” she finally managed to ask.

The two regal sisters exchanged a quick glance, one that spoke volumes between the two. Luna turned, spotting Ponyville’s library in the distance.

“I think it’s time you all are told what is happening,” she said. “Can you find your friends and meet us in the library as soon as possible?”

Twilight and Rarity had no words to say. As Luna departed for the library, they stood in tense silence, unable to make any sense of the controlled chaos around them. Canterlot soldiers galloped and barked orders to one another, just above the reverberating growl that seemed never-ending.  The two friends turned to look at each other, their confusion apparent in their gazes. They both were thinking the same question, with neither needing to speak.

What was happening to their home?

Author’s comments: Whew, it’s good to be back. I must say, back when I was writing this, I was seriously hating how it was turning out. The entire writing was just awful – I restarted the entire chapter twice over before going with the Fluttershy intro. And then came the fun of writing out bad scenes, removing them, writing worse scenes, removing those, fighting writer’s block, fighting a traffic ticket, and then FINALLY writing what you just read. At last, the chapter turned into something I’m happy with.

Fun fact: Snips and Snails were originally due to make an appearance in this chapter. But since their usefulness was not going to expand into later chapters, they were cut out entirely.

I hope I didn’t piss off any Twilight Sparkle fans with this one. For what it’s worth, her scene houses some of the best writing I’ve done since my Golden Sun days.

Co-author’s comments: I don’t know how I feel about this chapter. A lot has changed, but personally I think the end result turned out better than the rest. I honestly don’t know how long it took for us to decide on an intro for the chapter, but I’m glad we found something so that we could continue with the story.

Next chapter: Twilight, her friends, and the two princesses discuss what they believe is happening to their town and their world. Whether they’re ready for it or not, they must do what they can to stop the dark magic - but they’ll need to form a plan.