The Twilight Years

by Kendrick

Fin? Part 1

Twilight had finished her ice cream and decided that she would go visit Pinkie Pie before going home. Her break with routine was certainly making her feel better about everything. At least when she wasn’t actively trying to squash the little shred of guilt she felt for blowing off her work. She wondered if Pinkie would have some insight to offer her about how to mend things with the rest of the group.

Thinking about it as she walked, her imagination ran wild with what type of sage advice Pinkie might conjure up. By the time she was nearing Sugarcube Corner she was less than sure asking Pinkie would be wise after all. She would just have to see how things went.

“Twilight! Twilight!” Spike shouted at her as he ran down the street trying to catch the purple unicorn.

Hearing him, Twilight stopped to wait fir the panting dragon to catch up.

“What's wrong Spike?” she asked as he staggered to a stop before her, leaning on her leg while he gasped for air.

“It's....(wheeze)...I... Just gimmie....(pant)...” he choked out between gasps.

Before he could continue Twilight felt the ground start to tremble. As the vibrations grew she could hear the panicked cries of ponies all around her as flowerpots fell from window ledges and various loose items came tumbling down around everypony in town. Closing here eyes she concentrated her magic and teleported to the top of Sugarcube Corner's roof, leaving Spike to topple over in the street as his leaning post disappeared.

“No, no, no,” she moaned, trying to believe what she was seeing.

A giant bull with a boar-like head, as tall as the clock tower, was charging towards town. Its skin was shimmering scales of stainless steel and its eyes glowed an ominous green. Rage was written plainly across it's face as is stomped along the outskirts of town uprooting trees and smashing anything it came across.

“I just don't understand!” she growled in frustration, “First a hydra, a cockatrice, Cerebus, and now this! How is this even possible?”

The sight of Fluttershy streaking across the sky faster than Twilight had ever seen her fly ended her rant and drew her back to the problem at hand.

“Fluttershy!” she screamed at the top of her lungs.

“Oh dear, oh dear,” Fluttershy cried as she changed her trajectory and came flying up to Twilight.

“Fluttershy, I need you to find Rainbow Dash,” Twilight commanded.

“Already here!” Rainbow Dash interjected, screeching to a stop beside Fluttershy.

“Good! You go get Applejack. Tell her to bring plenty of rope. Fluttershy, you find Rarity. We have to keep this thing away from Ponyville,” Twilight barked.

“On it!” Rainbow Dash said with a salute and shot off in a blue streak.

“Okay,” Fluttershy squeaked and took off towards Carousel Boutique at near her earlier speed.

Twilight paused for just a second trying to come up with some sort of a plan. Disbelief threatened to overwhelm her as she stared at the advancing monster. No matter what she saw, she just couldn't see how this was possible.

“Pinkie Pie!” she screamed, using her magic to amplify her voice.

“Yeah Twilight,” the pink mare chirped as she stuck her head through the faux icing of the store's roof.

Ignoring the impossibility of what her friend had just done Twilight forced herself to concentrate on what needed done.

“Oooohhh, what is that?” Pinkie asked before Twilight managed to say anything.

“It's a Catoblepas, but they are supposed to be extinct,” Twilight answered. “We can't let it into town!”

“Okie-Dokie,” she said and popped back down through the roof.

Twilight teleported back down to where Spike was regaining his feet. By the time she had the dragon in hoof, Pinkie Pie had bounced to her side. She paused for a moment to make sure that Spike was actually alright and caught her breath.

“Spike, I need you to let Princess Celestia know that there is a Catoblepas in town. We need her here as soon as possible!”

“That's what I was trying to tell you,” Spike replied. “She's at the library. She was worried after your letter and came to see you.

“Good!,” Twilight sighed, “Go tell her we are going to try and stop this thing before it gets into town.”

“Alright,” Spike moaned and took off at a staggering run.

Twilight looked at Pinkie and decided that asking if she were ready would be a waste of time. Her friend was managing to stand there and wait patiently, but she was practically vibrating with the effort.

“Let's go,” she said and took off at a run.

The pair raced toward the sounds of destruction at the edge of town. At times they were slowed by the press of ponies fleeing the horror behind them. It wasn't too long before they were within sight of the beast.

“Look out!” Pinkie yelled as she shoved Twilight roughly to the side.

Before Twilight had time to react a large rock smashed into the ground where she had just been. She had never seen Pinkie's Pinkie Sense in action first hand before and couldn't help but give a thankful breath for the mare's rejection of natural law.

Rainbow Dash and Applejack met them just as they approached the beast.

“What in tarnation is that?” Applejack asked incredulously.

“A Catoblepas,” Twilight explained reflexively.

“Okay,” Rainbow Dash interrupted, “What's the plan?”

Twilight paused as her friends watched her expectantly. She was used to the burden of leadership, but rarely had she ever had to deal with a crisis such as this. For a moment fear gripped her as she wondered if she had made a mistake; if being Twilight Sparkle wasn't a larger responsibility than the life she had traded for it. With a shake of her head she shoved the thought aside.

“We need to keep this thing out of town. Applejack, can you lasso this thing?”

“In my sleep,” she answered confidently.

“Good,” Twilight replied, “Once you have it lassoed, toss the rope to Rainbow Dash who will get ahead of it and wrap it around something solid. Got it?”

“Oh, yeah,” Rainbow chuckled, rubbing her hooves together.

“What do we do?” Fluttershy asked nervously.

Twilight considered briefly as the crashing sounds grew closer.

“Pinkie Pie will lead it to where Applejack and Rainbow Dash are waiting. Can you do that?” she asked, only waiting for a nod from Pinkie before continuing. “Honestly Fluttershy, the best thing you and Rarity can do is try to make sure everypony is out of its way.”

Fluttershy nodded and hopped off the ground, hovering while she waited for Twilight to give the order to take off.

"Of couse," Rarity added, looking uneasy as the sounds grew louder.

“Are you sure this will hold that thing?” Rainbow asked skeptically, hefting the end of Applejack's rope.

Rarity stepped forward and examined the rope with a critical eye. Closing her eyes, she focused a powerful burst of magic at the rope. When she was done Applejack and Rainbow Dash were left holding a heavy silk cord. Rarity rubbed her head with a hoof, swaying slightly as she did so.

“You know we're trying to stop this thing, not dress it up, right?” Rainbow quipped, looking at the cord.

“Don't be silly,” Rarity replied coolly. “Silk is much stronger than... that,” she continued, pointing with disdain at the other hemp rope Applejack held.

A dislodged tree trunk crashed to the ground next to the group killing further discussion.

“Let's go!” Twilight yelled.

Fluttershy and Rarity took off ahead of the others to make sure the way was clear. Pinkie Pie charged fearlessly at the beast making faces and yelling taunts as she went. Applejack and Rainbow Dash took up a hiding spot just off the path and prepared to do their part. Twilight tried desperately to figure out what to do after they had the catoblepas diverted away from Ponyville. Even if it weren't bearing down on the town, there was no way this thing could be allowed to roam free in Equestria. For a moment she wondered where Spike and Celestia were. She would feel much better with the power of the Princess backing her up right now.

Before she could wish any more Pinkie came rocketing past her, an unusual look of concern on her face. The beast was hot on her heels as she ran past Applejack. As it thundered by Applejack stepped out, and with a laugh tossed her lasso around its horns. Before it could react Rainbow Dash grabbed the end of the rope Applejack tossed her and was off in a flash.

The activity was enough to give the catoblepas pause and slow it for a moment. This gave Rainbow the time she needed to tie the rope off to a large tree at the side of the path. Once it realized it had been tied the catoblepas roared with rage and threw its head about, clouds of green fog rolling from its nostrils. True to Rarity's word, the silk cord held up to the abuse. The same could not be said for the tree, however. The cord hummed like a guitar string as the beast pulled it tight. With a second jerk it yanked the tree from the ground to go swinging wildly in the air, sending the ponies diving for cover.

“That is quite enough!” Celestia's voice boomed, drowning out all other sounds.

The Princess landed gently in front of the beast, a look of grim determination on her face. It merely roared in reply and charged her. The ponies stood in shock as it bore down on their princess with a fury. Turning her head slightly and bracing her feet solidly Celestia met the charge head on, stopping the beast in its tracks. Bright fountains of sparks poured forth as their horns met, the crashes rolling like thunder, but Celestia refused to yield an inch to the monster.

Finally it reared back and took a deep breath. Celestia used the pause to fire on the catoblepas. Her magic hit its reflective hide and scattered harmlessly into motes of light. Unfazed it snorted, letting loose billowing clouds of green fog over the Princess. She recoiled in surprise as the fog enveloped her, turning her to stone. As the cloud dissipated the catoblepas stepped over the statue of the Princess and continued towards town. Horror numbed the group as they stared at the frozen image of Celestia. A loud shout finally shocked them from their dazed state and gave them a new reason to be surprised.

“NO!” Fluttershy roared at the beast. Twilight turned to see her and Rarity returning to the fray having made sure Ponyville was evacuating. The cream pegasus launched herself at the catoblepas, stopping mere inches from its snout.

“You will NOT hurt any more of my friends!” she bellowed at the beast. “You will turn her back RIGHT NOW!”

Twilight had heard of this side of Fluttershy, but never seen it in action herself before. She had to admit she had been skeptical of the accounts that Fluttershy had stared down both a full grown dragon and a cockatrice, but seeing Fluttershy in action now she was a believer. The catoblepas stopped and considered the pony flying before it. Fluttershy continued her rant, but the beast seemed unmoved. Twilight's breath caught in her chest as she saw it taking a deep breath.

She charged forward as fast as she could. Leaping with all her might she teleported to Fluttershy's side. When she reappeared her momentum stayed with her, shoving Fluttershy into a nearby treetop as the catoblepas sent out another cloud. Twilight was helpless as the cloud enveloped her. Caught in mid air she couldn't dodge, and it was too late for her to even try and teleport again. By the time the cloud had cleared a stone Twilight had crashed to the ground.

The catoblepas brushed past the rest of the group and stormed towards the town. Nopony made a move to stop it as they stared in disbelief at the frozen forms of both Twilight and Celestia.

Comments

[Fausticorn]

Fin? Fin indeed...

[Azure Beat]

[Obsidian]

*Pick up Gorgon with TK*
*Smack it's head against ground multiple times*
*Step 3*
*Profit*

btw, how you described it, it's a Gorgon, metalic scaled bull that breathes green smoke with petrification properties.

A catoblepas is much harder to describe, but was supposed to have a more Giraffe look about it, with a gaze that causes death.

[fireflutterpony]

And Twilight (in both current and former forms, no less) continues her less-than-stellar record against petrifiers.

[BenRG]

Woo! Cliffie! (should be a trollestia smiley)

[Kendrick]

1133657
My mouth dropped open when you posted this.....

1146791
The D&D Gorgon was what I originally had in mind, but gorgon has a different description in classical mythology. The catoblepas from mythology is different from the TSR depiction too, so I merged them.

And the TK angle occurred to me, but the ponies do seem to have a track record of forgetting abilities in a pinch.