“Is that….. Princess Celestia?”
“It is! It is!”
“Praise Celestia!”
“What is she doing here though?”
“I have never been so close to royalty!”
“Does she….look mad?” said various members of the group as they gazed up at the slowly descending Celelstia, whose eyes I could not tell where they were looking.
I wanted to say something, like how good it was to see her or how I missed her. But the second I saw her enraged face, words fell short as I stood by and watched.
It was certainly quite a spectacle to behold though, to see her walk on the suns luminous rays as though she were walking on solid ground. I wonder what kind of magic that is?
The second she touched the actual ground though, the group swarmed around her in excitement and glee as finally being able to see their beloved Princess for the first time in their whole life. Regardless of her current demeanor.
“Princess Celestia! What in Equestria are you doing here?!”
“You are so pretty Princess!”
“Maybe you can help us!”
“Yes! With a Princess backing us up, we can really live!”
“I love you Princess!”
Those and much more comments and words were thrown around as Celestia simply stood there, observing.
What was she looking for?
Her eyes finally met up with mine and for a brief second, I saw her eyes glisten and that was when I gave a little smile and waved. But then she returned to her rigid form and scanned elsewhere.
She finally stopped when she found Devia and took a few steps forward, to help clear the crowd.
“Is that it?” she questioned.
The now stunned crowd followed her gaze to Devia and back before one of them asked “Is that who, your majesty?”
“Is that the being made of metal?” she almost hissed while asking again.
“Ye-yes, your majesty. That's Devia and they are-” the same one started to say before being swept up with the rest of the group in a huge wave of magic that gently pushed them and every one else aside. In a blink of an eye, I saw a massive gap between Celestia and Devia.
“Celestia? What are you-” I quickly tried to say before I felt an intense wave of heat wash over me, so much so that I had to shield my eyes for a moment or two in order to adjust.
“-AHHHHHH!-”
Devia?! What in the world?
“-AHHHHHH! MASTER!-”
Both of their voices mixed together as a twisted sound of pain and metal screamed into the air.
I quickly rubbed my eyes before opening them…..
“CELESTIA! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” I quickly asked when I saw what was going on.
She was standing there, eyes glued to that one spot while her long white horn, fully charged with her magic, was firing a monumental beam of light towards Devia. It was almost like she was using the power of the sun itself, cause it was so bright and hot!
“I am ending this nightmare, once and for all. AGAIN!” she replied as I saw a surge of light travel from her to Devia and another wave of painful screams roared over the plains.
“Stop this! Your hurting them! Your gonna kill them!” I said as I began to rush towards Devia.
“STAY BACK ADRIAN! YOU KNOW NOT WHAT HORRORS HIDE BEHIND THAT INFERNAL THING!” Celestia angrily shouted as she poured more feeling into the spell.
“I said-” I took a major leap forward, using all the strength I could muster, into the column of light but while doing so I felt my magic burn stronger than ever as my heart threatened to pound out of my chest.
“STOP!” I continually shouted at the top of my lungs and along with those words, came my dragon fire to act as a shield for both myself and Devia.
Sometimes, even though you are doing what you believe is right, those moments can sometimes be hell.
The second my body stood before the might of the sun, I could feel my entire body begin to burn. Even though my own body was reinforced with Dragon Magic and everything else, AND even using fire as a shield, the ferocity of the sun was mightier than anything.
Even though my skin was crawling, my heart pounding, magic spewing forth, mind racing, and lungs hurting. It was almost peaceful, in a way.
Through whatever it was, the fear, the pain, the shock, or maybe everything put together, I found myself not hearing anything except for the sound of dancing flames and the calm sound of wind swirling around me.
Was I hearing the magic itself?
My question was quickly taken from me as the moment my fire died down, so did the light that blinded me.
Followed very quickly by “Adrian?! What in tartarus are you doing!?” by Celestia.
I found myself shaking on my knees, with ragged breath as I turned my head around to look at Devia. Much to my surprise, they were not as bad as I thought. Their metallic body was singed a little and their mane and tail were a bit shorter but overall they appeared fine.
“Are…..(huff huff) are you….. ok? Devia?” I asked with a clear shortness in my breath.
“-Yes, my master. But you shouldn't of done that, you could have been killed too-” Deva replied.
“We will talk later, ok?” I quickly told them before I pulled myself up to stare at the both worried and angry looking Celestia.
“Adrian! Are you hurt?! Why did you do that?” she asked in a very loud voice.
“Because no one hurts my friends!” I boldly replied.
“They are not your friend! You don't know anything about them or why they were created! I have to destroy it! If the evil of that factory was ever set loose in Equestria, then we would be dealing with a crisis almost as big as Tirek!” Celestia declared.
This caused quite a commotion among the others as they began to talk to each other, whispering about Tirek and Discord and other things.
“You knew about the factory?” I asked in return.
“Yes, I did. And after it fell, I was relieved to believe in thinking that that beast would never awaken, to never hunger. But when I accidental snuck up on Luna, to give her a silly little surprise, I saw your dream. I saw the ruins of that awful place and I hoped that you simply walked across it and left. But then I saw it. That machine. The result of a mad dream and the toll it took from many innocent souls”
“Now, as a Princess of Equestria and its co-ruler, I shall make amends and destroy it before it is set loose. Now, stand aside Adrian” Celestia said.
Even though I had stood my ground and even leapt into the path of fire and light, the second I heard her demand along with her cold but determined eyes, I almost wanted to move aside. For her and her alone.
Sometimes I forget that she ruled over everyone for over a thousand years and has seen war and battles. She has a commanding gaze and, at this moment, it frightened me.
But when I took a slight step back, I heard a slight movement of metal behind me and remembered something important. So I swallowed a nervous gulp and spread my arms forward in defiance.
“I will not, if you want to get to Devia, you have to go through me” I shouted.
I heard a round of gasps and nervous chatter, contemplating about both sides and outcomes.
Even Celestia seemed a little taken back but she shook it off and stomped a hoof down “Adrian! This is no time for heroics! That metal monstrosity has to be destroyed!” she said.
“Says who?! YOU! You of all ponies who should know of second chances!” I replied.
“This isn't the same! This is different from-”
“From banishing big sis Luna to the moon and then forgiving her? How?!” I said back to her. Now Celestia was truly taken back, so much so that now she took a step away in shock.
“How is this different? Sure, they may have been created for evil but that does not make them evil! Devia has proven to be reliable and trustworthy so far and has even begun to teach these children basic knowledge! Or did you deem them evil simply because of what they might do? Cause, if that is the case-” I gulped at the words that I was about to say.
“If that is the case, then you would have to kill me and my daughter as well!” I shouted.
“No! Don't ever say that Adrian!” Celestia finally responded.
“Then spare them, spare them and give them a second chance. I have been shown so much kindness ever since I came to this world, why should it stop at me?” I asked her.
Silence…..
It washed over all of us after I asked that last question.
Minutes rolled by as the day continued to move on its own accord, but the tension in the air kept us all on our toes.
Finally, I saw Celestia take in a deep breath of air and exhaled it, before her old smile adorned her face.
That made me smile of course and I felt my body almost sink due to how tense I was and now I felt like I was floating on air. Which is kind of funny since I have technically walked on clouds, but I won't get into semantics and technicalities just yet.
That was when I turned around and started checking on Devia again “Are you sure your alright?”
“-Yes Master, nothing a little buff and polish cant fix and I can simply get Miss Yarny to fix up my mane. She is always looking for something to knit and sew-” Devi replied this time.
“True, true. I'm just glad you didn't melt or anything” I said back.
“-Well, another minute or so and I would have-” Devi said.
I was going to say something else but that is when I heard Trixie gasp “ADRIAN! LOOK OUT!”
I quickly turned around and saw that Celestia had summoned what looked like a huge spear made out of the same light as before, but now it had a more reddish tone to it.
“Please, forgive me Adrian” is all I heard before it was thrown.
I was going to do something but I felt my body become lighter than normal before seeing a slight shimmer start to envelope me.
I knew what she was doing! She is going to teleport me so I wont be in the way! No, no, no!
“PAPA!”
NO, NO, NO!
I looked over and saw that Maelstrom had taken flight and was racing towards me now, so I held out my arm and shouted “SAVE HER!”
I saw Celestias eyes dilate and in a split second I saw Maelstrom shimmer more and faster before finally disappearing far off into the distance.
But I stayed right where I was.
And that is when I got hit, full force, in my right arm that I had just out-stretched.
“AAAAAAGGGHHHH!” I screamed out in agony and overwhelming pain. But the pain didn't seem to stop as it traveled down my arm, it was almost akin to having my arm dipped in boiling water instead of being burnt by fire. But the difference didn't come to mind until later, cause right now I was in searing pain.
What was worse, was that I had none of my defenses up like I have had the past few encounters. But due to the sheer panic and surprise, I left myself open with no magic to shield me this time.
For some reason, I brought up my other hand to clutch my wrist while the pain continued to wreak havoc.
That is when I felt something lightly press against my arm and I felt the harsh fire be replaced slowly be a warm fuzzy feeling. I guessed that it was Celestia, so I looked up and saw her horrified face as she tried to heal me.
But I was having not of that, not right now.
So I swatted her horn away and I felt my adrenaline kick in as I stood up, still clutching my arm, as I stared at her with anger in my eyes.
“Don't you dare touch me! Not after that little stunt you just pulled!” I snapped at her.
“Adrian! I didn't mean to-”
“Didn't mean to go behind my back, after I just pleaded with you to spare them! Didn't mean to hurt me?! DIDN'T MEAN TO BETRAY ME?!?” I continued to let my pain and anger fuel my words.
“I would never hurt you-” she tried to say again.
“Well you did! You hurt me, while trying to kill my friend! Augh!” I yelped a bit when a surge of needles seemed to spike through my arm. I accidentally bit my lip, which caused a little blood to trickle through.
“ADRIAN!” I heard Sweetie Bell cry out in a high pitched voice.
“PAPA!” I heard this time just as she teleported to me and began to stare at my arm.
Soon, Celestia had gotten pushed back by the numerous ponies who gathered around, asking in multiple voices if I was ok and such.
I felt something cool but strange on my arm, looking down I saw that it was Artemis licking me while whining in a sad tone. Which, strangely, caused Maelstrom to also start licking my arm as well. If I wasn't in so much pain or so riled up, I probably would of laughed.
But I didn't as I gripped my arm in pain. After two more painful throbs shot through my arm, I finally cracked open my eyes to stare at the white Alicorn who watched helplessly from afar.
“A-Adrian, please. Forgiv-”
“DON'T! Don't you even dare begin to utter those words to me! How can I ever forgive you when you couldn't even spare my friend, even after I begged and threw myself against your magic attack. Not after you betrayed me like that” I honestly said.
“But Adrian, I only wanted to-”
“ENOUGH! I don't want to hear another word from you, Princess” I said to her, like a poisoned dagger.
She was hit hard after I called her Princess, which is what I wanted. I wanted to let her know how much I hated her right now.
And I didn't feel sorry.
And once more, silence fell upon us all. Though it didn't last quite as long, since I felt Sweetie Bell tug at my shirt.
“Adrian?” she sadly called out.
“Sweetie Bell, Applebloom, Scootaloo, you three should head home. I don't think you would like being around me for a while and I don't want to accidentally snap at you. Not like I did to your sisters after what happened with Luke” I told them and I winced a little at saying his name.
“But Adrian” Applebloom said.
“Please, do this for me. Ok?” I asked a bit more gently this time.
“I can see you three home, it is the least I can do” Celestia quietly spoke up to say.
At this I finally stood up on my feet, still feeling my arm sting, as I walked up and by her. But as I did, I said “Good, at least I know you still care about ponies at least”
I heard her give a little gasp in surprise before I heard the sound of the CMC being teleported away.
That was when I spoke up again, with my back turned to everyone “And to the rest of you, I will still be heading towards Manehatten. If you still wish to follow me, then please do so. All those who don't believe in me, ask the Princess to take you with her back to Canterlot and I am sure you will be taken care of” and with that I began to slowly walk in the direction of our original destination.
I quickly heard the sound of many hoofs racing towards me for about two minutes, and when I turned to look behind me, I saw that I still had about thirty or so bodies following me. Including the grumpy gryphon and the donkey family. Taking a quick glace further, I saw that the remaining few had stayed behind with her and they were all talking about something.
Celestia then turned her head up to look at me and even from this distance, I could tell the sadness that was in her eyes.
But I looked away, to see what was out in front of me as I lead my group once more.
Though, a small pang in my heart rose and after another minute or so, I looked back once more.
Only to find that she and the others who choose her were gone.
So I ignored my heart this time and simply glanced forward, and walked.
And walked.
And walked.
-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Meanwhile, In Ponyville -~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~
“Oh! I cannot wait to give that lecture about Cutie Mark magic at Princess Celestias School for Gifted Unicorns! It's going to be so educational and great!” Twilight said with a huge smile on her face.
“Yes, Twilight. I think we got it after hearing it for the twenty-fifth time” Spike replied with a groan.
“So, uh, when exactly is it sugarcube?” AJ asked.
“In exactly three weeks, two days, five hours, twenty minutes, and ten seconds! Oops, make it eight seconds now! Hehe!” Twilight said in delight.
A few of the girls rolled their eyes as their friends eagerness but smiled anyway as they continued to chat for a little while, or at least until they heard the distinct voices of a certain trio of fillies they were looking for.
“Twilight! Twilight! Twilight!” Sweetie Bell said, almost in tears as she ran up to the group and into her sisters hoofs.
“Sweetie Bell! There you are! Finally, you all had us worried sick!” Rarity asked as she magically pulled out a handkerchief and started to clean up her younger sisters face.
“Nevermind about that! We have to tell you about Adrian!” Scootaloo said almost frantically.
“Adrian? So you did find him then? Oh thank goodness! How is he?” Fluttershy asked.
“That's what we've been trying to tell ya! Something bad happened! And you won't believe who caused it!” Applebloom said before she started telling her story on what happened.
-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ A Few Hours Later, In Canterlot -~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~
“What do you mean we can't see her?!” Twilight questioned the guard who was blocking her and her friends way into the throne room.
“The Princess has given us very strict instructions to not allow anyone to see her today. As she is indisposed right now” the right guard said as he was instructed to.
“But this is important! We have to talk to her! Maybe she will let us in if you tell her who is here?!” Twilight said, trying to reason against orders.
“My deepest apologies, Princess Twilight, but Princess Celestias orders were very clear. Even Princess Luna had trouble getting through to her. Er, keep that between you and me. If you please” the left guard said this time.
“There has to be a way, we have to talk to her!” Twilight tried once more but was interrupted.
“It would of little use, Twilight” Luna said as she strolled up to the group.
“Princess Luna! Were you able to talk to her at all?” Twilight asked again.
“Yes, but I will not discuss it here. Lets us talk in my quarters, for we have much to discuss” Luna calmly instructed.
“P-Princess Luna, can you at least tell us one thing. Is…. Is Adrian all right?” Fluttershy asked a bit louder than usual, which made everypony else equally nervous since it was one question on all their minds.
“I do not know, Miss Fluttershy. I do not know. He was been dealt a great blow, both physically and mentally. And, I am afraid, it won't be healed for a very long time” Luna said with great remorse.
The group grew silent as they ascended the stairwells to Lunas guest room to talk in private about the events.
Once Luna placed a soundproof spell and magically locked the doors, she begun her long and sad talk.
And if they had taken a look outside, they might of seen that a dark cloud had suddenly begun cover the skies, starting right above the throne room.