Broken and Battered
Chapter 26: Broken and Battered
"CEASE!"
The voice rang with the clarity of a massive bronze bell, echoing so loudly that it could be heard throughout Ponyville and even as far as Sweet Apple Acres, where the town's population awaited the battle's conclusion. It was filled with the weight of authority and the will of a ruler.
Akenstone's sword halted a hair's breadth from Terra's neck. From above, he felt a literal deluge of warmth and light that seemed to seep through his skin, into his flesh and bones. It was a calming sensation that put the blind stallion at ease. He relaxed, allowing the armor of dust and other substances to crumble away from his body. The massive sword he had been holding crumbled as well.
Hovering above the teahouse, looking down through the new skylight Arkenstone had opened its roof, was none other than Princess Celestia, her body shining with the light of the sun, her mane and tail shimmering, looking more like massive tongues of blue-white flames than the gentle aurora they usually resembled. Her eyes gazed sternly down at the two stallions.
"This battle is over," said Celestia, "Enough blood has been spilled this day."
Terra blinked and shook his head fiercely before forcing himself to look reverently up at the Princess. "Your Radiance, I-"
"Silence." The single word carried enough weight in it to make Terra's jaw snap shut audibly before he had even fully processed what he had heard.
"I wasn't sure you would make it in time," said Arkenstone calmly as he rested the hoof that had previously been holding the sword on the ground.
"I came as quickly as I could manage," said Celestia, turning her attention to Arkenstone.
Terra looked back and forth between Celestia and Arkenstone in confusion. She had saved him at the moment of his apparent demise. He had no doubt that Arkenstone had fully intended to kill him, yet the armored stallion had stopped the very instant Celestia had ordered it. It was practically divine intervention. However, he couldn't understand why she was not focusing her wrath on Arkenstone now.
"Where is Dawn Lightwing?" asked Celestia.
Terra smiled slowly. Now Arkenstone would pay for his heresy.
"He is at Sweet Apple Acres right now," said Arkenstone.
"And his condition?"
"Battered, bruised, drained of his magic, but alive," said Arkenstone with a slight smile, "I don't doubt that he will make a full recovery."
Celestia's stern visage melted into a relieved smile as she drifted down through the hole in the roof to land near Arkenstone. "Thank goodness."
The bottom went out of Terra's stomach at those words. "Wha-what?" His voice was barely more than a whisper. Celestia seemed not to have heard it. Arkenstone's ear twitched in the faintest acknowledgment of Terra's voice. "Your Radiance! That de-"
"I told you to be silent," said Celestia, turning an expression of undiluted rage on Terra Heart, "If you utter another sound without my leave, I will order my Knight to finish what he started."
Terra's voice died as he wilted beneath the rage in Celestia's glare. His insides felt as though they had liquified. He simply couldn't process what he was hearing.
"Were there any other injuries or...casualties?" asked Celestia.
"I believe the evacuation went smoothly. I don't know if anypony was injured in that. But it seems unlikely." Arkenstone lowered his head. "However, both Red River and Storm Front were badly injured in combat. I am not certain that they will be able to recover fully."
"I see," said Celestia glumly, "I've already sent the Royal Guard detachment that accompanied me to Sweet Apple Acres. More are bound from Canterlot by train with relief supplies. It would seem the two of you did quite a bit of damage to Ponyville during your battle."
"My apologies," said Arkenstone.
Letting out a sigh, Celestia lowered her head before shaking it sadly. "Still...there appear to have been no deaths this day. I'm glad for that." She turned her attention back to Terra. "All that remains is to take this stallion into custody. From him, we will learn everything about the Cult Solar and stamp it out."
Arkenstone spoke again, but his voice was lost to Terra's ears. It was as though a thunderstorm had taken up residence in Terra's head, pounding ceaselessly as he gaped unabashedly at Princess Celestia, the goddess he had worshipped. Everything that he had done, every deed he'd performed, all the injuries he'd suffered this day, all had been for her. But here she was, not merely rejecting him, but declaring her intent to snuff out the Order of Celestial Light, even calling it by that accursed name. What is going on? His world had been turned upside down. Nothing made sense anymore.
With a low whine, Terra Heart sank to the floor in an unmoving heap.
"It seems you broke him," observed Arkenstone blandly. His hoof twitched as he turned his attention to Terra. The cultist stallion was extremely dangerous now, perhaps even more so, now that the foundation upon which he had built his principles and actions had been so rudely torn out from beneath him. While it wasn't a certainty, some ponies had gone into episodes of frenzied violence over such revelations. Even in his present state, Terra Heart was still dangerous. I should finish this...
"Arkenstone," said Celestia, her stern tone resonating in his ears, "Lower your hoof."
Slowly, Arkenstone's hoof came to rest back on the ground.
"I gave the order to stay," she said, "It was not your decision," said Celestia, "You need not be The Relentless here."
"But..." Arkenstone's voice trailed off as he thought about what he had been about to do. Amongst his fellow Knights, he had been known as The Relentless, one of his less favored titles. He had always tried his hardest to avoid violence and avert bloodshed. But when no other option was given and he was forced to draw his blades and strike, he made absolutely certain not to withhold anything and never left a foe alive. It had been his conviction. If an adversary could not be deterred through any other means and insisted upon resorting to violence to the very end, ultimately, such an enemy would only cease to be a threat if they were dead. He had believed in that conviction in order to assure that he would not strike unless he had exhausted absolutely every means to end a conflict without bloodshed. Every time he did resort to violence, he killed, using the memories of the lives he had taken to remind him of his failure to find a better way.
But the conviction that he had held so firmly to in the past was now turning to bare its fangs at him. At that moment, he hadn't been fully committed to the reasons he'd been using on himself to finish Terra off. He had just been looking for an excuse to kill Terra on the spot, to ensure that he had held true to his course of action. What am I thinking?
"Arkenstone," said Celestia, "I have always respected your desire to seek better ways of resolving issues. I know that is your greatest virtue as a Knight. In the past, you pushed forward and succeeded where even some of my finest diplomats would have thrown up their hooves and walked away. But...you need not go that far any longer. Your conviction is not for cutting down the helpless, whoever they may have been or whatever they may have done up to that point. If you followed through with that, you would not be worthy to be one of my Knights...and you would not be the stallion my dearest student loves so."
"I..." said Arkenstone. He opened and closed his mouth slowly. "You're right."
Celestia nodded. "Thank you." Her horn glowed, a nimbus of magic gathering around the unresponsive Terra and lifting him up. "Can you walk?"
"I can."
"Then I will meet you at Sweet Apple Acres," said Celestia, "I need to check on the situation there." She beat her wings and took to the sky, making her way out to the farm.
Taking a shuddering breath, Arkenstone willed his limbs into motion. Now that the battle was over, the adrenaline had faded from his system. He was conscious of the countless aches and pains spread throughout his body. Each and every step was a novel experience in pain. However, he knew his own body well enough to know that he could indeed make the journey. His current condition would draw that journey out for him.
But...perhaps...that extra time was what he needed now.
Celestia came in for a landing directly in front of the Apple family's barn. She could see the ponies that had been evacuated from the hospital resting inside. Already, her Guards were taking stock of the situation. Spike had been pressed into service as a messenger, sending updated reports to Shining Armor on what supplies were needed. Later on, he would probably be communicating how many ponies were without shelter and the overall damage tallies for Ponyville. She knew that the young dragon would probably work himself to the bone to help get it all done. I'm going to owe him some special rewards when all this is over, she thought. She had some very nice gems in one of the vaults back in Canterlot that Spike would probably love. But she could ask him what he'd like later.
Because they had traveled light, the squad that had accompanied Celestia from Canterlot wasn't carrying anything in the way of relief supplies. Given the aftereffects of the battle between Terra Heart and Arkenstone, it would be a while before anypony would be able to return to their homes for any length of time, at least until surveyors and engineers could determine the structural integrity of the homes affected...which was nearly all of them. To make matters worse, there were quite a few families and ponies who had no homes to return to, the buildings having been shattered, as though they were made of toothpicks, by the battle. The destructive potential of a Celestial Knight was nothing to be trifled with, say nothing of a battle between one and a pony nearly equal to him in power.
Arkenstone had won the day, but the price was high. It would be weeks, months even, before everything returned to normal in Ponyville. Making matters worse was the highly personal nature of the conflict. Terra Heart had come to Ponyville looking for Dawn, with the intent of killing him. Arkenstone had intervened and acted to stop Terra. This fight essentially boiled down to the presence of a single colt, which had led to widespread destruction and damage. Celestia silently prayed that ponies didn't take their anger out on Dawn.
"Princess," greeted one of her Guards, who had taken up a station by the barn doors, "Would you like us to take charge of the prisoner?"
"Yes," said Celestia, "You have brought the binding shoes, haven't you?"
"We have," said the Guard.
"Make sure he is outfitted and then shackle him," said Celestia, giving Terra's limp form one last cold glare before she left him on the ground for her Guards to deal with, "Then tend his wounds and make sure he is stabilized. It would not do for him to bleed out before we draw all the useful intelligence we can out of him." Her aura faded away as she left him behind, save for four rings of magic, which restrained each of Terra's legs.
Binding the power of accomplished users of earth pony magic was a difficult task. Both unicorns and pegasi of nearly any level could generally be restrained by inhibitor rings and wing bindings respectively, thanks to the fact that the majority of their magical outlets were concentrated on those parts of their bodies. However, earth ponies not only possessed a relatively even distribution of magical outlets across their bodies, but they also had an equal number of inlets for absorbing ambient magical energy, which made restraining them more of a challenge. It helped that few earth ponies ever really learned to master their magic to its fullest capability.
To bind earth ponies like Terra, special horseshoes, called binding shoes, had been invented. Made of the same material as unicorn inhibitor rings, they worked by absorbing magic drawn into earth ponies through the nails used to hold them into place. The consequence was that the shoes grew progressively heavier as the bound earth pony relied more on her magic, while preventing her from actually using that magic at the same time. Of course, applying such shoes required subduing and restraining the earth pony in question, which was a very tall order indeed if they were advanced practitioners of their craft. Once those shoes were on him, Terra wouldn't be going anywhere.
Celestia walked sedately into the barn, looking around and taking stock of the situation. The barn floor had been swept clean of dirt and clutter, with tarps being laid down so that the place could be used to house the patients from the hospital. Celestia found herself admiring the level of organization. There weren't all that many patients, but the ones who were there were being exceedingly well cared for despite the conditions. She drew glances from the nurses and orderlies ministering to the patients and gave them encouraging smiles as she passed. One of the most important laws she had put into effect was that hospital staff were not to interrupt their work even when royalty was present, especially when they were working with patients. In the distant past, Celestia had seen more than a few injured ponies lose their lives because a doctor or nurse wasted precious seconds to prostrate themselves to her in the middle of an important treatment or operation.
The one thing that truly caught her eye was the white, blocky structure that stood near the entrance to the barn. Its form was definitely out of place, namely because Celestia could tell it wasn't composed of mundane matter, but actualized magic. Did Twilight create that with her ring? she wondered. If so, it was an impressive feat, one well beyond what most ponies with such an item were capable of. She also noticed two ponies in particular waiting outside the structure, their eyes fixated on it so intently that they hadn't even noticed Celestia's arrival.
"Applejack," said Celestia softly as she came up behind the farm mare.
"AH!" Applejack jumped nearly twice her own height in surprise before spinning about to face Celestia. Her pegasus companion was so startled that she jumped all the way up to the rafters, clinging to them for dear life.
"I'm sorry," said Celestia in a soothing tone, "I didn't mean to startle you."
Picking up her hat, which had fallen to the floor when she'd jumped, Applejack brushed it off and wiped sweat from her forehead before slipping the hat back on. "No harm no foul, Princess," she said in a relieved tone.
The pegasus, recovering her composure, released her hold on the barn rafters and drifted down to the floor, stooping neatly into a graceful bow in the same second that her hooves touched down. Celestia nodded to her, bidding the mare to rise. "And what is your name, my little pony."
"Flitter...Your Highness," said the pegasus shyly.
"Hey now, no need to be so shy," said Applejack, reaching over to give Flitter a reassuring rub along her back, "The Princess ain't gonna bite ya."
Giggling, Celestia nodded. "Under the circumstances, forgoing formalities is a perfectly understandable thing." She looked past the two mares at the white box once more. "Can you tell me what this is about?"
"Not a whole lot," said Applejack, nervously rubbing one foreleg with another, "Twi made it to help the doctor with Storm and Red. They're in a mighty bad way."
"Ah," said Celestia. She hadn't gotten the chance to meet Storm Front, but she had met Red River when he had accompanied Applejack and her friends up to the Royal Palace for Hearth's Warming. She assumed that Flitter was Storm Front's fillyfriend. It certainly seemed that way from how she and Applejack were visibly supporting one another as they awaited the results from inside Twilight's improvised sanctuary.
Applejack in particular looked as though she needed support. Even as they talked, Celestia could see her swaying unsteadily. Applejack's orange coat was matted with sweat and her normally flowing mane sagged limply. There were also bags forming beneath Applejack's eyes that would have normally spoken of sleepless nights. "Are you sure you're alright to be here?" asked Celestia, looking at Applejack worriedly.
"Ah...Ah'm just a bit tired," Applejack conceded, her voice faltering.
"She and all the other earth ponies who could be spared used their magic to stop the tremors," explained Flitter.
Celestia nodded. That explained why everything on Sweet Apple Acres was in such good condition even though an event that was comparable to a small-scale earthquake had occurred nearby.
"You should get some rest," Flitter was now saying to Applejack.
"No way! No how!" said Applejack stubbornly, "Ah ain't gonna get a lick 'o sleep 'til Ah know if Red's gonna make it."
"How long have they been in there?" asked Celestia.
Flitter frowned. "Almost two hours now," she said, a nervous quaver in her voice. It was obvious that she was also very worried about the outcome.
Celestia pursed her lips and stared at Twilight's creation. Actualizing magic into such a large structure was no easy feat. Even if Twilight's magical reserves could have easily handled the task for days at a time, the mental strain of maintaining an object that was stretching the limits of what the arcanasteel ring was designed for would be excruciating. Depending on the extent of the two stallions' injuries, the doctor might require hours still in order to finish the operations to the extent that any kind of substantial recovery was possible. Would Twilight be able to maintain it for that long?
There wasn't anything Celestia could do directly to provide assistance. If she tried to catch Twilight's attention or use her own magic to aid in Twilight's work, she was more likely to disrupt Twilight's concentration than anything else.
Instead, Celestia turned her attention to Flitter and Applejack. It was clear that the two mares were running themselves ragged worrying about their stallions. With a sigh and a sad smile, Celestia lit her horn, conjuring a drifting cloud of magic that settled across the two mares like a glowing fog. Both Applejack and Flitter's eyes began to droop and the two mares sank into an exhausted slumber. Quietly, Celestia motioned some nurses over to supply Applejack and Flitter with cots and blankets, leaving them sleeping peacefully.
Good luck Twilight, thought Celestia, giving the white box one last look before turning to look for the other pony she had come to check up on.
She found him laying silently on a cot near the center of the barn. Dawn Lightwing was out like a light. Across his body, Celestia could see bandages and even a couple of sutures here and there to close larger cuts. Next to him lay a second cot, where little Scootaloo was also resting. Sitting down and watching over both of them was an anxious Fluttershy, who was flanked by a pair of formidable-looking griffons.
"How is he?" asked Celestia as she approached Fluttershy. The two griffons turned their sharp, predatory gazes on her for only a second before they relaxed and stepped back to allow Celestia room to approach the canary-colored pegasus. Celestia favored the pair with a nod before returning her attention to Dawn's mother.
"He's resting," said Fluttershy.
I can see that already. Only centuries of practice kept the wry comment from leaping out from Celestia's lips. Fluttershy didn't need sarcasm right now. Settling down next to her, Celestia draped a wing over Fluttershy's back.
"His condition is stable," said one of the nurses, coming over, a clipboard hovering in the grasp of her magic, "He was suffering from severe magic depletion when Scootaloo brought him in. We managed a transfusion and he stabilized. However, as you can see, he suffered plenty of other injuries."
"I noticed some cuts and abrasions," said Celestia.
The nurse nodded. "Those too. However, we also suspect that he's suffering from impact trauma in the chest area, possibly even fractured ribs. However, until the Doctor is available to perform an examination and we have an appropriate environment for it, I'm afraid all we have is guesswork."
"I called down some additional medics from Canterlot," said Celestia, "A hospital tent is on its way as well. It should serve as substitute until we can verify the structural integrity of the hospital and ensure that it is safe to move the patients and staff back in."
"We're grateful for that," said the nurse. She reached out with a hoof and, ever so gently, brushed the strands of Dawn's mane away from his face. "I can't imagine how hard he must have been fighting to reach this condition."
Celestia gave the mare a worried look. "You aren't upset about this are you?"
The mare looked aghast at the Princess. "At him? No. I'd like to think that I know better than to blame the victim. I certainly hope that most everypony else in Ponyville is as reasonable. He even led the attack out into the park to try and keep it away from everypony."
Celestia nodded. She turned her attention to Fluttershy, who was still resting against her side. Celestia could see that Fluttershy had fallen asleep in the shelter of her wing. "Could you find another cot?"
"Of course," said the nurse with a smile before walking off to do exactly that.
Once Fluttershy was settled, Celestia took her leave of the barn to see how the rest of Ponyville was coping with this disaster.
By and large, the residents of the town were surprisingly resilient. Then again, given the town's reputation as a trouble magnet in the past, the majority of ponies seemed rather inoculated against such incidents. All told, the ravening swarm of magically altered parasprites had probably done more damage overall than Terra and Arkenstone's battle. It helped that it was midway through the spring season and the weather was fair. Had it been in the middle of winter, the situation would have been much more dire.
Celestia spoke with everypony she could and was relieved to note that, while most of them were aware of Dawn's involvement in the incident, very few of them seemed to hold it against him personally. The few that expressed frustration towards the colt simply seemed to be using him as a vent for their stress more than anything else, rather than actually holding a grudge against him.
About three hours after the fight's conclusion, a flight of pegasi from the Royal Guard arrived, towing large freight carriages loaded down with tents and bedding, along with food supplies and the most essential personnel to help the inhabitants of Ponyville through their situation. Still more ponies and material were on their way by train. Shining Armor had immediately started organizing relief efforts after Celestia left, not even waiting for reports to come in via Spike's dragonfire to requisition items and get them organized. Luna had weighed in as well to move things along.
Seeing that everything was going well, Celestia wrote out another letter and tracked down Spike to send it along to Shining Armor. It's time to end this farce, once and for all...
"That should do it," said Doctor Stable, sewing closed the last incision and snipping off the string, "We've done all that we can." He turned to look at Twilight. "You can let us out now."
"O-okay," said Twilight, letting out a breath and relaxing. All around her, the white walls of actualized magic crumbled away into scattered motes of energy, allowing the ponies inside to view the interior of the barn once again.
"That was well done, Ms. Sparkle," said the doctor, adjusting his glasses, "We couldn't have done this without you." Already, the nurses who hadn't been part of the operation were swooping down on the group, carefully moving Storm Front and Red River off to be hooked up to nutrient drips in preparation for the healing spells they would receive later.
"You're...welcome," said Twilight in a dazed tone, swaying as fatigue crashed over her like a wave.
Stable's smile faded as he looked at Twilight. She looked as though she had gone through several straight nights without sleep. He hadn't realized that the mental fatigue of what she had done would be so severe. Raising a hoof, he beckoned over an unoccupied orderly and ordered a cot for Twilight. He was feeling rather tired himself, having been operating for the past several hours, but felt that he needed to make sure that everything was in order before he rested himself.
As it turned out, his work was mostly done. Amongst the ponies flown in by Celestia's Royal Guard were additional doctors, who had already seen to Dawn and Arkenstone. They had set up a hospital tent outside of the barn. The tent's fabric had many of the same wards used by hospitals, thus allowing the doctors to carry out their work with little difficulty. Princess Celestia was also still present, overseeing the distribution of supplies and shelters.
"Ah, doctor," said Celestia as he approached her, "How do your patients fare?"
"Well...given the circumstances," said Stable with a sigh, "We did what we could, which was much more than I ever hoped I could. Storm Front will still be able to fly when all this is over and Red River will have little more than a slight limp. Still...I believe that they will not be as effective fighters even after their recovery."
"The damage was severe then."
Stable nodded. "It was. However, it was relatively undirected. They both avoided crippling damage to their joints, which made it much easier to piece them back together. It's thanks to your student that we were able to treat them as well as we did."
"Yes, Twilight has outdone herself this time," said Celestia, "I am most proud of her."
"You should be," said Stable before remembering he was speaking to a Princess, "Apologies for my impertinence, Your Highness."
"No apologies," said Celestia with a titter, "After everything you have done, you certainly deserve a little leeway. Rest doctor. You've earned it."
Stable bowed politely to Celestia. "Thank you, Your Highness." Turning he headed off to get some much-needed sleep.
Dawn's eyelids slowly fluttered open and he yawned. Said yawn was aborted when his chest sent a jolt of pain through him, cutting off his yawn with a strangled grunt. The pain wasn't severe, more sudden and surprising than anything else. It served to sweep the cobwebs from Dawn's mind and punt him fully into wakefulness, though he still felt decidedly sluggish.
He was staring up at a ceiling of white canvas that stretched out to meet four equally white walls. At one of the corners, he could see sunlight filtering in through the fabric. Otherwise, it was fairly dark inside what Dawn assumed to be a fair-sized tent of some sort. Outside, his ears picked up the chittering sounds of birds and insects and an undercurrent of muttering voices. Where am I? Given his circumstances, he figured that he had probably been evacuated to Sweet Apple Acres. The quietness of the setting seemed to indicate that the battle was now over. Given that Dawn had woken up at all, he guessed that Arkenstone had managed to win the fight. Dawn could only hope that the Knight was not badly injured.
Shifting about underneath the sheet lying over him, Dawn began to take stock of his condition. There was a lingering soreness and sensitivity in his chest. However, it was mild, suggesting that the damage had been healed somewhat. The cuts and bruises that had dotted his body when he'd passed out were now closed. Aside from his ribs, he felt quite well.
A tugging sensation on Dawn's arm prompted him to look over and spy the IV he'd been hooked up to. I guess that means I've had a healing spell, thought the colt. It certainly explained why his injuries were...mostly...gone.
Of course, healing magic meant that his body's reserves had been tapped to fuel the spell, which meant...A low growl filled the tent as Dawn's stomach demanded sustenance immediately. The noise seemed to echo through the room, causing something to stir and prompting Dawn to realize that he was not alone in the room.
Something that looked a little like a pale-pink hump slowly rose up beside his bed, seeming to loom like a cresting wave before giving way to the yellow of Fluttershy's coat as she raised her head and turned to blink sleepily at the colt. "Dawn...?" she said, her tone tentative and worried as she rubbed at her eyes.
"...Good...morning...?" was all that Dawn could think to say at the moment. His mind was not operating at full speed, which seemed odd, given that he was used to waking up rather easily in the mornings. It also bothered him that he hadn't even noticed that she was in the room until she'd started moving. Even by his usual standards for waking up after being battered around in a fight, this was unusual.
Letting out a happy sigh, Fluttershy leaned down and planted a light kiss on Dawn's cheek before nuzzling it. "Thank goodness," she said, her voice practically a whisper.
Dawn's stomach growled again, drawing Fluttershy's attention. She giggled. "I'll let the doctor know you're up and get you some breakfast," she said, getting to her hooves and leaving through a flap she opened in the tent's wall, leaving Dawn alone.
Dawn blinked then returned to staring up at the tent's ceiling, pondering his situation. He felt much more sluggish than usual, even pondering going back to sleep. His stomach wouldn't have any of it though, protesting its own emptiness all the louder.
Fortunately, he didn't have long to wait. A few minutes later, the tent flap lifted to admit Fluttershy, now balancing a tray that held a glass of water and a bowl of something steaming on her back. Following behind her was the doctor, who smiled knowingly at Dawn.
"I would say welcome back," said the doctor wryly, "But you managed to avoid landing yourself in the actual hospital this time, since we were forced to rely on a substitution."
"Ah..." said Dawn, having trouble of thinking anything to say about that.
"Oh yes. I imagine you are feeling rather more tired than usual," said Doctor Stable, lifting the arm that had been hooked up to the IV. Carefully, he removed the needle and pushed the stand out of the way. "I've treated a few pegasi with Wing Exhaustion before, but never full-blown Wing Stroke."
"Wing...Stroke...?" Dawn's mind struggled as it tried to process the unfamiliar term.
"Wing Exhaustion is what occurs when you pegasi draw push your magic too far. Your body's meridians shut down to keep you from wasting any more energy. It's a safety valve, a limiter of sorts." The doctor lit his horn and sent a beam of magical energy sweeping over Dawn's body. "However, under rare circumstances, it is possible to override that limiter and continue to draw your magic until it is completely exhausted. Your physical and mental processes shut down and, deprived of the magic that flows through them, your meridians eventually collapse. In that condition, if you woke up at all, you would be unable to fly ever again."
Dawn's eyes widened and a jolt of panic surged through the colt, just as Stable raised a placating hoof. "However..." he said sharply, cutting off Dawn's anxious train of thought, "you are most fortunate that you were treated promptly. Your fillyfriend was more than happy to donate some of her own magic to help restore enough of your own to keep your meridians functioning properly. The fact that her magic is still in your system is one of the reasons you're feeling so out of sorts at the moment. It will pass as your body restores more of its own magical capacity. But it is going to be a few weeks before you'll be strong enough to fly again."
"That's...good to know," said Dawn, sinking back onto the mattress.
Stable raised a rectangular black plate in his hoof and projected his magic onto the plate. An image of the colt's skeleton appeared on the plate. "Your bones have mended nicely, though I imagine that you are still feeling a little sore."
Dawn nodded.
"That's to be expected," said Stable, lowering the plate, "Your ribs had cracks running all along their length. I've rarely seen anything like it. There was also a substantial residue of earth pony magic embedded at the center of the injury that resisted attempts to heal you initially."
"Magic?" asked Dawn, raising an eyebrow.
A polite cough from Fluttershy interrupted the doctor, just as he was opening his mouth. Seeing that Dawn's mother was still waiting with the tray of food and watching the doctor with an uncharacteristically irritated gaze. "Oh...right..." said the doctor nervously, "I'm sorry, Ms. Fluttershy. You're free to give Dawn his breakfast."
Breakfast turned out to be a bowl of some sort of savory-smelling broth. At least it was palatable. But it didn't feel all that substantial to Dawn as he sipped it down along with his water.
"You don't want to try solid food just yet," cautioned the doctor, "Trust me. Your stomach will give you hay for it." He paused to pull off his glasses and wipe them with a cloth. "Anyway, about the magic...It's a rare phenomenon, something I've never actually seen with my own eyes before. An earth pony who's using her magic offensively projects the magic through physical contact, using the magic as a medium of transferal for force in order to send the impact of their blow into the target. It also enhances the force of impact.
"When that happens, if the magic behind the blow is strong enough, it can linger at the site of the injury, causing it to resist healing magic to a certain extent. It won't cause you any permanent harm, but it will slow your healing process somewhat." Stable shivered visibly. "Like I said, it's the first time I've actually seen that with my own eyes. Very few earth ponies know how to use their magic in an offensive manner and even fewer can put that amount of power into it. Judging by the extent of the damage, I'm assuming you only just barely avoided making direct contact with the blow."
"By a hair..." said Dawn, "...literally."
Dr. Stable went pale as he stared at the colt, shuddering. He remembered seeing the injury for himself. He'd assumed that Dawn had at least partially taken the blow. But if what the colt had said was true, then the true force of the blow must have been staggering. Dawn was lucky that his body hadn't been splattered across the landscape like a rotten fruit.
Still, he managed to regain his composure and replaced his glasses. "I'm going to have you rest for today and tonight and give you another healing spell this evening. Hopefully you'll be in condition to move after that. However, I want to caution you against any undue physical exertion before your magic has recovered. You're liable to hurt yourself if you aren't careful."
"Alright," said Dawn with a slow nod.
The doctor saw himself out and Dawn returned to what remained of his breakfast. "Can you tell me what happened?" asked Dawn, looking at Fluttershy.
"Yes," said Fluttershy, her smile fading as she began to relate what had taken place while Dawn had been unconscious.
"Ugh..." The low groan escaped Twilight's mouth as she struggled to pry her eyes open. It was unpleasant work, given that Rainbow Dash had apparently flown back from Cloudsdale to prank her by replacing her eyelids with sandpaper. Even as her eyes opened, the only thing she could make out were bright blurs in front of her. Her nose was stuffed like she'd had a cold. Her ears were even less help, given that Pinkie Pie had apparently brought out that weird mishmash instrument she'd used to get the parasprites out of Ponyville and was now playing it in the enclosed space like there was no tomorrow.
To say that Twilight had a headache would have been the understatement of the century. Her head was pounding, throbbing to the point she could actually feel her head twitch in time with her pulse. On top of that, her head felt as though it now weighed a couple of tons and the effort of trying to lift it off of the stiff, uncomfortable pillow it was resting on was likely to snap her neck. Opening her mouth, Twilight tried to formulate some sort of coherent sound only to cough and hack as the dry air outside entered her mouth and went down her even drier throat.
Something warm wafted across her muzzle, vapors that drifted up her nostrils, seeming to slowly flush out the accumulated snot that was blocking her primary breathing passage. Twilight inhaled deeply, welcoming the scent of something vaguely herbal as it continued to clear her nasal passages. Something was touched to her lips and Twilight could feel hot liquid splashing against her mouth. Opening her lips slightly, she sipped slowly, finding the liquid to be the source of the vapors that had cleared her nose; some kind of herbal tea. She welcomed the taste and smell of the tea as it filled her mouth and slowly soothed her throat. It was gently warm, but not hot, which was a welcome relief in her current condition. The din of Pinkie Pie's musical efforts began to fade into a background of murmuring voices that Twilight realized were actually the sounds of ponies talking around her.
Geez. How lucky I am to get the hangover without even having a chance to get drunk in the first place, thought Twilight wryly. Though the ache in her head had faded, her horn was still throbbing slightly. But it was a minor distraction at best. Twilight made another attempt to open her eyes. This time, they slid open smoothly and without protest. Though her vision was still blurred, Twilight was slowly able to make out shapes and objects around her.
"Are you feeling better?" said the pony who'd been holding the cup of tea to her lips.
Turning her head, Twilight was shocked to see who was beside her. "Arky!" she squealed, lunging up off her cot to throw her arms around the stallion, "You're okay!"
"Oof!" exclaimed Arkenstone, wincing in Twilight's embrace.
Almost immediately, Twilight let go and flopped back down on her cot. "I'm sorry!" she gasped, getting her first good look at him, now that her vision was coming back into focus.
Arkenstone had certainly seen better days. All four of his legs and his neck were tightly wrapped in bandages, with even more strips of cloth criss-crossed over the center of his forehead.
"It's alright," he said with a fond smile, "I'm glad that I was able to come back to you in one piece...more or less..."
"I'm glad too," said Twilight, leaning up again, this time to gently kiss her coltfriend on the lips. Settling back onto the cot, she smiled up at him. "I take it that everything turned out alright."
"More or less," said Arkenstone, "Terra is no longer a threat and Princess Celestia has the situation well in hoof."
"What happened?" asked Twilight, "I figured the doctors would have healed you already."
"They are having some difficulty flushing Terra's magic from my body," said Arkenstone, "It slows the healing process down somewhat."
"So...you won?" said Twilight.
"Yes...I won," replied Arkenstone, "And I hear that you played an important role in yesterday's events as well."
"Um...well..." Twilight's cheeks bloomed with color and she looked away bashfully.
The gesture was meaningless to Arkenstone, who couldn't really meet her eyes anyway. Instead, he leaned down and gently nuzzled the base of her horn. "You were incredible Twily," he said, "Princess Celestia is very proud of you."
Those words made Twilight's heart soar as the turned her head back to capture Arkenstone's lips in another kiss. "I'm just glad its over," she said softly.
"Not just yet," said Arkenstone, not pulling his head away, but instead leaning forward to lean his head against Twilight's own.
"What do you mean?"
"Ponyville was still badly damaged by our fight," explained the stallion, "There is a lot of work to be done before everypony can move back into their homes. And then there's..."
"There's what?" asked Twilight, her eyes narrowing.
Arkenstone sighed. "We have Terra Heart in custody. With his actions, we now have full confirmation of the Cult Solar's intentions regarding Dawn Lightwing and ponies like him, that this is the actual policy of the Cult Solar and not merely the actions of a few extremists. Princess Celestia is mobilizing the Royal Guard. She intends to root out all of the Cult Solar's strongholds and drag every member she can before the courts."
"Oh..." said Twilight, her eyes widening. She supposed this was a long time in coming. Still, after all the anxiety that Celestia had expressed about stepping across the line between authority and tyranny, this was still a dramatic shift.
However, her mind went back to the limp forms of Red River and Storm Front as Dr. Stable worked desperately to save them. She remembered the destroyed wall of Scootaloo's house and the filly sitting in the hospital waiting room, distraught from the act of putting a pony in the hospital when she was defending herself from said cultist's attack. This is probably something we should have done a long time ago.
"The logistics of the campaign are proving somewhat difficult to arrange," said Arkenstone, "We haven't yet had the chance to interrogate Terra Heart on the location of the Cult's strongholds, much less the location and identity of their leader. On top of that, mobilizing the Royal Guard is going to be a difficult task."
"She could supplement the Royal Guard with Guards from other towns," said Twilight.
"She could," admitted Arkenstone, "But that could prove counterproductive. She's actually been laying the groundwork for this operation for months now, using covert members of the Guard to ferret out the Cult Solar's hiding places and their strongholds but...sometimes the local Guards of various towns have been less than trustworthy."
Yeah, I can see why that might be a problem, Twilight thought to herself. Though the Cult Solar had only experienced a resurgence in the past ten years, there were probably areas of Equestria where it had been entrenched for generations. Even in relatively new territories, it would be a simple matter to start seeding members of the group into organizations such as the local city and town Guards, allowing them to control the flow of information to and from Canterlot and inhibit any efforts to actually locate them.
Because of that, there was plenty of reason to distrust the Guard in areas where the Cult Solar was known to operate. However, the Royal Guard, while an elite force, was a relatively small one when their numbers were compared to the scope of what Celestia was trying to do. They would be spread thin if Celestia really wanted to cover as many places as she possibly could.
"Fortunately, the Royal Guard isn't gonna have to do all of this on their own."
Twilight's eyes widened as she saw a familiar mare striding up to stand next to Arkenstone. "Spitfire!"
"Hey there," said Arkenstone's fellow Knight and Captain of the Wonderbolts with a friendly wink, "I heard you saved the day with some heavy-duty magic."
"Well..." Twilight blushed and looked away. A bit embarrassed by the praise, she decided to switch the topic. "Wait! If you're here then..."
"Sorry, Rainbow Dash didn't come with us," said Spitfire, still smiling, "She's in training with Firefly right now. I got Spike's letter from Ouranos. But, by the time we got here, everything was pretty much over already. I sent the rest of the team back, but we'll be out there with the Royal Guard when the Princess wants to start playing Cultist Roundup."
"She's called back Sparrowhawk too," added Arkenstone.
"I think she'll probably call in Firefly as well," said Spitfire, tapping her chin, "With three of us on the job, I think we'll manage pretty well."
Twilight sighed. She hoped that Princess Celestia's efforts to bring in the cultists were successful. At the very least, taking such decisive measures against the Cult Solar was sure to send a clear message that their beliefs were not valid and that the object of their adoration had a very serious bone to pick with their activities.
The conversation was interrupted by a low growl from Twilight's stomach, reminding her that she hadn't eaten since the previous day. Both Arkenstone and Spitfire heard the noise and grinned impishly at Twilight.
"I see somepony is hungry," said Spitfire.
"Thank you for belaboring the obvious," muttered Twilight.
Chuckling, Arkenstone gently rubbed a hoof against Twilight's foreleg. "Do you think you're up to moving about? I can get something for you if you want."
"I'll get up," said Twilight, sitting up with a groan and forcing herself to roll out of the mattress, "I'm woozy from holding my concentration for so long. It's literally all in my head."
Still, standing up proved to be a challenging task. But with Arkenstone by her side to keep her steady, Twilight managed and she was soon on her way, albeit slowly, to the mess tent that had been set up for the evacuated Ponyvillians.
Sadly, breakfast was not to be. Just as they were about to enter the tent, Arkenstone's ears stood sharply upright and the stallion's entire posture stiffened. He pulled away from Twilight abruptly, nearly causing her to topple over. Only an outstretched wing from Spitfire managed to keep Twilight on her hooves. After the past couple of days, Twilight was not in the best of moods. She immediately opened her mouth to berate Arkenstone before noticing what had captured his attention.
Arkenstone had turned his entire body to face the Apple Family farmhouse. He seemed to lean towards the structure, his nostrils flaring as he sniffed, sounding almost like a dog on the trail. His expression, which had previously been jovial, was now one of the utmost seriousness. There was tension in every line of his body and, to Twilight's surprise, he had actually gone pale.
"Arky...?" she asked nervously.
As it turned out, Arkenstone didn't need to answer her. Instead, Twilight picked up the sound of a frantic voice on the wind, a voice that was accompanied by the rapid clopping of hooves. Now she could see Apple Bloom as the yellow filly galloped toward them, tears streaming from her wide eyes, a look of stark terror on her face.
"Twilight! Twilight!" she yelled frantically, "Help! It's Granny!"
"Calm down," said Twilight, lifting a hoof and trying to follow her own advice. In spite of her efforts, her heartbeat was picking up pace as a faint feeling dread crawled upwards and started to worm its way into her head.
"It's Granny!" repeated Apple Bloom, "Ya've gotta help us! She's gonna DIE!"
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Granny is alive!
next chapter
GRANNY IS DYING!
damn. that's a low blow.
DON'T YOU DARE KILL GRANNY!!......oh god, here come the feels....!
Seriously, superb work on these fight scenes. I can't begin to tell you how well they're done. Detailed and fluid writing is so good in these sort of scenes.
There was never any doubt they were going to win. But now comes the hard part - stamping out Cult Solar politically and physically.
NO! SHE BETTER NOT DIE! I already was upset when I thought she was dead the first time!!! DONT PLAY WITH MY FEELINGS more than ya already do with cliffhangers!!!
Next chapter: Granny's funeral (?)
Terra must pay for what he did to our Granny!
I figured Granny would die at some point. But she seemed at peace with that fact, as near I as can tell. Still sad though... roundstable.com/forums/images/smilies/ajuh.png
5876172
Makes me wonder though... will Apple Bloom seek out Arkenstone to be her teacher for Mountain Root?
Terra is going to wish Arky killed him when Celestia's done with him, and i do mean Celestia. She be more effective then Luna in this case.
5876218
That seems HIGHLY unlikely... especially with how Terra is...
But yes... as I thought, this is the straw that broke the camel's back... or in this case, Celestia's... now she will bring upon the full wrath of the sun onto the Cult Solar...
I've got the whole, "been there, done that feeling" feeling on Granny dieing. Seriously, she's an old mare, has a huge and happy family, and you already did a fakout on her death. Just let her go already...
Well, I guess my arbitrary theory that Granny's been Obi Wanning it up for a couple chapters was inaccurate, but this is reasonably close.
Well I was wrong on Arkstone killing Terra Heart, though after Celestia's through with him he's gonna wish Arky had hacked his head off.
I'm more or less surprised she managed to survive to make it back to the farm to coordinate the 'Stand Firm' action. That there's a recoil and she's likely to die? Entirely expected.
Celestia needs to move fast, honestly the guard should have been ready to move the moment Terra made an overt move. They knew it was coming, they knew that it would be the incident they needed, but I have no doubt that they will be to late to prevent the activation of the devices, even if that's only part of the process Morning Star is putting into action.
You know, if you think about it, it was Dawn that actually defeated Terra. That last strike would have hit if it hadn't been that cut that he gave him.
I wonder what Terra would do if he ever found/figured that out.
Call me a horrible person for saying this, but I feel like it would have been better from a storytelling point of view to let granny die after detaining Terra. It would have given more spotlight to Mac, and the rest of Ponyville's earth ponies.
Then again, it also allows us to listen to granny's last words, so there's also that.
So Storm and Red's careers as mercs are officially over... along with their fighting
I'm guessing she burned up her life force instead of her magic reserves to hold the acres firm?
Let's see, Ponyville was utterly destroyed leaving almost everyone homeless, Terra's beliefs were shattered, Storm Front and Red River are going to be somewhat crippled, and Granny Smith is dying.
It's a good day for everybody, isn't it?
Question: How do you get a new chapter out every day?
5876813
He's been writing for months. They're just put out one at a time...
... At least, I think so.
"Arkenstone, this is my last Mountain Root technique, transferring all my life force and power to you..."
"Granny no! You-"
"You can't stop me young one, I've already started the process..."
Arkenstone felt a tiny smidgeon of power enter him, power he wouldn't even notice if he wasn't paying attention.
"...I was going to say that since she's borderline dead, giving me her 'life force' would do almost nothing for me..."
"W- well, at least she did something that showed her love and trust for you in her last moments."
"Actually, I was also going to say I could do a transfusion on her and save her life, but uh..."
"..."
Awwwwh c'mon, i know you've been foreshadowing her death for a while, butbutbut... it's Grannyh Smith maaan! The Granite Nag of Ponyville.
5876557 Makes sense. She already used up her magic reserves holding Terra in place to buy time.
5876813 The story's been finished, minus minor editing, since he released the first chapter. This is also the reason the gap between stories is as long as it is.
Great chapter! As much as I don't want granny to die, it'd probably be better if she does. I mean, if she lives, it's what, a couple years at best until she dies from old age anyway? She has 3 great grandkids, one of whom is actually learning Mountain Root and a booming family business.
I kind of saw this coming. I do hope survives long enough to set her former student on the right path.
Besides, she has, what, three centuries on her? She has earned her rest.
Ooh, let me do it! I know ways to get any pony to talk!
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Reporting for duty!
Well... that's not surprising. She gave her last to save the town and ponies she loved.
Now about those Cultists... Why doesn't Celestia summon them instead? Tell them she has found the main bastion wants to be part of the charge against the 'demons', then turn around and immolate the entire fucking lot when they're away from any population centre?
Edit; Oh yeah, the nobles! Shame some of them have connections to he cult, isn't it?
...they're fucked, and not in the good way!
well now this is a chapter that will go down in history it is the after math of a major battle ponyville still stand or some of it.
now it is time for healing and morning.
Granny smith if I am guessing right gave her life to protect every pony and the beloved farm.
we should all bow our heads in respect to her.
Harts Fire
Oh, this is all the best kinds of satisfying.
...aaand that's pretty much the opposite
NO!
NOT THE MYSTERIOUS MASTER OF MASTERS!
WHY!?
Not too surprised at the fact that Granny Smith is dying. I am surprised though that she didn't die earlier.
that last line
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but on the verbal beat down by celestia
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good job
No! Nope! EeNope! You can't kill her right after she came back from the dead. You can't do a whole thing where she faces the big bad. Apparent death. We're joyous when she finally shows that she's alive. Then up and kill her.
You'll cheapen further deaths, and will negate any further scenes of her dying. By it being seen as the boy who cried wolf, type scenario.
I must be missing something here. I see no possible reason all these damned cultists aren't being executed. They are aiding in murder and subversion, and outright treason. They have dedicated their entire lives to the persuit of evil. There is no recourse from that. It would be like patting Adolph Hitler on the head and saying, 'You're just confused, let's talk. Recant and every crime you committed will be swept under the carpet.' There is absolutely no justice in this. None.
8715392
You're missing that it's Equestria.
Other than the Knights, and villains. The Death Sentence doesn't seem to be something that really is done there. Discord, Tirek, NMM, the Smooze, Stygian, the Sirens, Starlight Glimmer, Sunset Shimmer, etc. All of them were dealt with, in manners that didn't involve death.
Equestria is huge on reformation. And if for some reason they can't be reformed. They are banished, cut off from the herd forever (and for a herd species, banishment is a massive punishment). But nothing we've seen in the show shows them having any type of death penalty. Not even for Dr. Caballeron, whom is a tomb raider, crime boss, theif, and consorts with a being constantly working to bring an Armegedon.
I now have the image of a giant bipedal spider punting Dawn into a tub of ice water... Truly it is a wonderful image.
He's back in spirit
Correction: one casualty. Though she has probably already accepted it...
How many times has Ponyville been destroyed, both in the show and in this story?